Food Revolution Day is HERE!

Playing my part in supporting Food Revolution Day (which is on May 19 - TODAY!), let me share with you 3 of the local (Hong Kong-based) charitable organizations/social enterprises bringing food awareness to the public and helping those in need.

Giving Bread

Giving Bread is a charitable organization supported by a number of hotels and restaurants in Hong Kong. Run by volunteers, they collect extra breads and other baked items from participating food outlets - those that are no longer needed by them - sort them, re-package them, and pass them to the needy - elderly homes, homeless shelter, etc. You may also hear about the organization from fellow blogger/chef Gregoire Michaud for he's been a huge supporter of the oragnization. (check out his blog post about this here)

As you know, most of the pastries left over from hotels and restaurants were in excellent condition and it's such a waste if no one ends up consuming them - and what's more meaningful then passing that to someone in need and show them that we care? There's no better way of saying than their slogan - Giving Bread, Sharing Love.

You can check out their website or follow them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/givingbread. Learn more about what they do and how you can get involved either by donation or as a volunteer.

Cooking for Life

Cooking for Life is an organization based in Hong Kong, with the mission of providing training opportunities for underprivileged youths in restaurants and hotels as chefs - so they can gain experience and learn the working skills that gave them advantage in the employment market.

As you may have heard, Chef Jamie Oliver has a similar drive in UK through his foundation's "Fifteen Apprentice Programme" with a shared mission of providing vocational training in the food industry to underprivileged young people.

Check out Cooking For Life's page at http://www.cookingforlife.org.hk/

Green Monday

Launched only a couple of weeks ago, Green Monday - founded by my good friend David and in partnership with Social Ventures Hong Kong - aims at promoting green lifestyle and healthy diet through a series of activities and events. One of the actions they are advocating is the pledge to go meatless every Monday - a way they said can reduce your carbon footprint and improve your health.

They are also working with a number of restaurants and retail outlets around town to promote the green lifestyle (for example, Caffe Habitu is now offering a separate vegetarian section on their restaurant menu for a wider variety of meatless dishes).

Check out their facebook page or follow them on twitter (@GreenMondayHK).