One Hundred Dollars a Month

Last year I asked you to send in pictures of your gardens, and those pictures blew me away. While those pictures are still welcome, I have a fun new idea that I think you guys are going to love. Well, I’m certainly going to love it!

Over Christmas, I took some pictures of my mom’s pantry. Now I’ve been in that pantry plenty of times, but taking some pictures of it opened my eyes a bit. First, it was fascinating to see what types and brands of foods she purchased compared to what I keep in my pantry. Her staples are different than mine. The makeup of her pantry and fridge is so different, even though, overall, we enjoy many of the same meals and foods. Second, it was fun to see how different she organized her pantry {and fridge}. And third, the sheer amount of food made me feel a tiny bit guilty.

We have so much, while so many go without or are forced to eat very little. While I am frugal for the most part when I grocery shop, and really make a conscious effort not to waste food, we are just super lucky to have such full pantries.

On the one hand, I’d love to see pictures of your pantries, your freezers and your fridges. I’d love to hear about where you shop, how you save, how you organize and how/if you preserve your food {do you can? dehydrate? freeze?}. And I’d love to feature these “pantry pics” on my site. On the other hand, I’d also love to help others fill their pantries.

So an idea was born: you send, I give.

You submit pictures of your pantry/fridge/freezer/cupboards, and I will donate $20 to a food bank {up to $5,000}. If your submission is chosen to be featured on my site, you will receive a $20 Amazon gift card, but even if it isn’t, I will still donate the $20. $20/$20. Get it?!

You must submit at least 5 HIGH QUALITY pictures, as well as a short blurb {at the very least} about you and your food habits. I realize that pantries are often dark, so while every submission will still earn the $20 towards the food bank, if you’d like to have your submission featured, you must submit quality pictures. Did I mention your photos need to be clear and well lit? 😉

Plus, I’d love to see any creative storage tips you have, hear about where and how frequently you shop, if you use a menu or if you wing it, if you shop seasonally or make choices based on sales. The more information you provide, the better chance you have of having your pantry being featured.

For every submission I receive with 5 pictures, and the story behind those pictures, I will put $20 into the Food Pantry Pot. I’ll keep a running tally on the side bar of the site, so you can follow along and track it too. This year I have plans to travel all across the country, so frequently when traveling, I’ll pull the money from the pot, hit the grocery store and then find a local food bank in the town I’m visiting. With your help, I’ll essentially “food bomb” pantries on my vacations. This is going to be fun!

So grab your cameras, straighten up those cans in the cupboard and submit away. The $20/$20 Challenge is on!!

The money will come from this years blog earnings {so keep that in mind the next time you see a link to a cool product on my daily deal posts}.

Think we’re crazy to take on such a big project? Well, if you are a long time reader then you know we’ve done it before… Remember when I asked you to send in all those gnomes in 2013? Together we raised over $5,000 for St Jude. Wasn’t that a hoot! Our trip to the St. Jude Vegetable Garden and Hospital was so amazing, we wanted to do something similar.

Again, thanks for your help. Giving back is cool!

~Mavis