Our Crowdfunding Groups
A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated to Kevin's 21st Birthday Celebration Fundraiser - we far exceeded our goal and I am blown away by the support!
Thanks to you, we will be able to give three students the opportunity travel to Guatemala over spring break to study the maize supply chain and learn about the food safety challenges in low- and middle-income countries. Additional funds will be used to additional on-campus events, research supplies, statistical software subscriptions, travel to domestic and international food safety meetings, and much more.
Our campaign has ended, but our commitment to improving lives by preventing foodborne disease. To learn more about CFI's work, please visit https://foodsafety.osu.edu/.
Again, thank you for helping us celebrate Kevin's 21st birthday!
Best,
Barb
What a great way to start a new year - we have reached nearly 150% of our goal! I really can't say thank you enough to everyone who has made a donation - your support will really help us achieve our 2020 goals, which include...
And your support really does help us achieve these goals. All of our work is "soft-funded" which means that we don't get funds from OSU's base budget. In other words, we have to raise the money we need through grants and/or donations and every little bit helps. For example, a $21 donation will buy a day's worth of food for a student traveling in a low- and middle-income country, or laboratory supplies to test corn samples for mycotoxins.
We have two days left in Kevin's birthday celebration and I am touched by the support. It would we could finish his birthday celebration strong so I am trying to get 21 new donations of $21. Please help me get the word out and make this Kevin's best birthday fundraiser yet!
Best,
Barb
Happy Holidays! What a gift CFI has gotten this year - we exceeded our goal in less than two weeks! A big thank you from all of us at CFI - we have so much to be grateful for this year.
If you read my earlier post, you may know that I just got back from a hectic week in Ethiopia that was packed full of meetings with collaborators and students. Not surprisingly, I am behind on my holiday preparations - I will be heading out to the store for some last minute shopping shortly. Even so, I found a little bit of time yesterday to do an interview with a Canadian radio show on why you shouldn't wash your turkey (or any raw meat, poultry or fish product).
I know you are probably thinking that I am crazy because you have always washed your turkey (or chicken, pork, beef, fish) but you shouldn't! Washing these raw products just spreads the germs around your kitchen - if you don't believe me, check out the video below - yuck! If you want to get rid of the "slime" on these products, just pat them down with a clean paper towel.
And don't forget to clean up - simply wiping down countertops and sinks aren't enough to kill bacteria that like to travel on raw meat and poultry - you also need to sanitize! This means adding a little bit of bleach to the mix. I personally like to use a commercial product like Clorox Clean-up but you can also make your own - just add a water and tablespoon or so of bleach to a spray bottle and you are good to go.
Finally, if you are heading out to the store like I am, be sure to pick up a digital, tip-sensitive meat thermometer. The pop-up timers that come with the turkey are really not reliable. To properly measure the temperature, stick the thermometer between the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. It is the last place to reach the proper temperature (165F). And don't stuff your bird - to get the stuffing to the proper temp you'll have to overcook the turkey and who wants that?
Again happy holidays and enjoy your turkey!
Best,
Barb
Wow! In less than a week, we've already raised over $1000 and reached 27% of our goal. Thank you so much to all who have donated - your support makes a big difference. I am especially struck by this today after a full day of meetings in Ethiopia on how to estimate the burden of foodborne disease here. Foodborne disease is a serious global health issue but, as the video below shows, Africa bears most of the burden.
Today, as I toured a local hospital and met with government officials, I was overwhelmed at the potential impact that our project will have for this country and their wonderful people. At the same time, I was saddened that I had to say no more than once - there is so much to do and I am regularly asked if we could just collect a bit more data, add one more student to the project and the list goes on. While we have a grant for our work, every dollar and birr is already allocated to a specific project activity.
Adding additional work or people means finding resources outside of the grant.This is one of the reasons that we are doing this fundraiser - an endowment would provide us the resources to do the extra things that aren't funded by grants.
Again, thank you for your support and please take a few minutes to watch the video below. Everyone deserves safe food and your support can help us improve food safety globally!
Best,
Barb
Happy Holidays!
I know this time of year can be quite hectic and the last thing you want is another thing on your plate but I want to invite you to help me celebrate Kevin's birthday by becoming a CFI Ambassador for Kevin's Birthday Campaign. As a CFI Ambassador, you will get a referral link to share with your family, friends and followers plus you'll be able to track your impact for CFI. Becoming a CFI Ambassador is easy - just click on the Ambassador button and sign up!
As always, thank you for your support!
Best,
Barb Kowalcyk
Kevin Kowalcyk should have celebrated his 21st birthday this year.
According to Ohio State researchers, foodborne illness costs an estimated $77.7 billion dollars per year in the United States.
Each year, an estimated 128,000 Americans are hospitalized due to foodborne illness.
The World Health Organization estimates that 420,000 people die each year globally from foodborne disease and 1/3 of these deaths occur in children.
An estimated 600 million people are sickened globally each year by foodborne pathogens. Africa and South-east Asia carry most of the burden.
