Amy Graff has been giving away sweet potato muffins not just because they're delicious, but because of what they symbolize. "Hi, do you know about World Food Day and the One Campaign?" she asks. The One campaign sent Amy and a handful of other mom-bloggers to Kenya one year ago to see how American aid money is being spent. This year, a new class of moms has just returned from Ethiopia.
"You come back realizing that you really didn't know what was important and it's a complete reorganization of your priorities," said Rana Diorio with Little Pickle Press. She and the other moms visited schools and learned about the challenge of giving kids proper nutrition. They also saw the farms where American aid dollars are helping to address that challenge with training and better seeds. "And they're taught how to grow nutritious crops, beets, swiss chard, wheat," she said. And of course, sweet potatoes. "The sweet potato is like this miracle vegetable that is so rich in nutrients and really can help these children who are malnourished," Graff explained.
All this talk of sweet potatoes and the tasty muffins they make is a whimsical way to call attention to a serious issue. "That hungry kids can't learn, hungry kids can't thrive, hungry kids are not going to be able to grow up and inherit the earth and change the world for the better," activist and campaign strategist Christine Pelosi said. That's why she showed up to harness the power of social media and send a message to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that America's most important war is the fight against hunger.
"The best seed that we can plant for peace are the seeds of food," Pelosi said.
