Dear readers,

My region of Japan remains unaffected by the March 11 earthquake, aftershocks, and tsunami, and we are far from the nuclear plant in Fukushima.

Last night, I was talking to a friend who lives in Tohoku, and he told me about the food and power shortages there. He managed to get some mabo dofu mix and curry roux at the store and was hoping to be able to purchase a vegetable or two to have in his curry. He jokingly teased me not to judge him for using boxed mixes.

Even though it was a joke, his comment made me think about how comforting it is to have good food. I have a fridge full of vegetables, electricity and gas to run my appliances, clean water, and an undamaged kitchen to cook in. There are no food shortages here, no black outs. I am grateful and lucky to be able to cook.

This is is a food blog, and I can’t think of a better charity to promote than Second Harvest Japan (セカンド・ハーベスト・ジャパン). Second Harvest is an NPO that helps get food to the displaced and disenfranchised. (Bilingual mission statements here.)

Second Harvest is collecting monetary and food donations and is in the process of bringing food to the affected areas, particularly Sendai. You can read more about their efforts and contribute via credit card or bank transfer here: English; Japanese. (Also, you can follow their twitter feed in English or Japanese!) I donated to Second Harvest and the Japanese Red Cross via bank transfer, and it was very easy to do.

Having access to food is as good for the body as it is for the mind, and not having to worry about running out of food or the effects of malnutrition is something that will help survivors feel normal again. Please help Second Harvest’s efforts to rebuild Tohoku one bowl of rice at a time.