Herbed Tabbouleh for We Feed Back

Back in May at Plate to Page in Weimar, Germany I met an amazing food blogger from Cape Town  – Ishay of Food and the Fabulous.  We had a lot of fun creating a picnic photoshoot together, and her infectious enthusiasm shined through the entire weekend.  Her passion is truly inspirational, and when she suggested that we Plate to Page attendees do a little something for the project We Feed Back, I was more than happy to participate.

I have never known hunger.  I was lucky enough to grow up in a small town in the rural countryside of New England and while money didn’t exactly grow on trees for us, in the grand scheme of things we lived a fairly comfortable lifestyle.  But there are millions who do know hunger, and know it every day.  In the midst of all the craziness of our own lives, it is so easy to caught get up in our day to day concerns – what to buy at the market? should we go out with friends for dinner and drinks this evening? where shall we go hiking this weekend? and we don’t stop to think about the preciousness of the fortunes that we do have, not even giving basic needs like hunger a second thought.  But for nearly one in seven around the globe, that is not the case.  So what if when we went out to enjoy food at a restaurant or have dinner with friends we could give back some of our pleasures to help those in need?

We Feed Back is an initiative of the UN’s World Food Program in which users utilize social networking tools in order to raise awareness and fund raise in order to fight hunger around the world.  Through We Feed Back, one can in essence give back any food or meal that was enjoyed by going to the calculator, entering the dish you ate and its cost per serving, and then donate the number of servings that you wish.  All the revenue goes towards WFP’s school feeding programs to help give meals to hungry children.

So this week, for our dinner to feed back, we made a light Summer meal while the 30+C sunshine seeded our minds with thoughts and yearnings for cool Autumn breezes to come soon.  We made a plate of grilled halloumi cheese and herbed tabbouleh by Anissa Helou (recipe on David Lebovitz’s blog), converted to gluten free by substituting cooked millet for the traditional ingredient of bulgur.  Simple and fresh, and yet would be a luxury for so many in this world.  But by “giving back” our meal, we can also help provide food to those who need it most.

I hope you are inspired to try this tabbouleh, but more so I hope you are inspired to check out We Feed Back, consider a donation, or plan an event of your own.  The food blogging community is a powerful one, and together we can bring about great changes in the world.

Also submitted to – Gluten Free Wednesdays