New Year's Resolution: Eat Well, Help Others

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Some months before she died, Julia Child gave me oft-repeated advice: : eat well, in moderation, and without snacking. (See previous entry "Julia Child: The Queen Is Dead.") As I think back over 2004, I have a new perspective on this advice in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami in the last month of last year. As a Foodie, I do indeed believe in eating well, but for 2005 I am empowering temperance and abstinence with charity. Whenever I go to snack this year, I am going to put aside a dollar for my weekly donation to Tsunami food and medical relief. In this way, I will achieve several goals at once by not snacking: I will enjoy meals more while I help others. Simple? That's what another piece of oft-repeated advice recommends: it's the KISS principle (Keep It Short & Simple). As soon as the Tsunami hit the news, I thought of organizing a grand chef event, like Windows of Hope for famlies of 9/11 victims, but as the far vaster scale of this tsunami dawned on me I realized that this would be asking too much of a small group of people. Chefs and restaurateurs donate a lot and often. Perhaps there will be a proper moment for a chef event, but for now it seems that so many people are aware of the disaster that we should concentrate on channeling the good will of masses of people rather than leaning on leaders. Most people feel the urge to help: by offering donation recipients (click here to donate), superchefblog and others are merely trying to help channel those good intentions. I remember that Julia Child donated her famous kitchen to the Smithsonian. That was a simple gift, really -- and no less generous in that she no longer had use of it after she retired. The best charity is what is easy on the donor and therefore easily sustained. That's why I recommend small donations from many, many people. Happy New Year to all. Previous articles: Tsunami Update 2: Race Against More Death Tsunami Update 1: Foodies Help 2004 Tsunami: How Foodies Can Help Baking From the Heart