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As most of my family members and friends know (at least they should), my birthday is June 4th. Since the day I'm supposed to be singing about how I'm feeling 22 is approaching very quickly, I've gotten the "what do you want for your bday?!" question a lot. And quite frankly, there is not much else I could want at the moment, other than a lifetime supply of bagels. I have my childhood room back (which also comes with my mom's cooking), an amazing internship in a city people dream of working in, and lots of friends that always want to eat with me. Honestly, I am very lucky. However, as most of us know, there are a lot of people that share the same planet as me that cannot say they are lucky.
That's why I wanted to do the giving for my 22nd birthday.
With how big of a following my Instagram has, it's no surprise that probably every person that follows me loves food as much as I do. I mean, when I'm not posting pictures of myself or memes of how I'm in a relationship with pizza, that is what takes up my Instagram page. I love food, my followers love food, food is important. But, not everyone is in a healthy relationship with what they eat.
In the United States, it is estimated that 1 out of every 10 Americans—20 million women and 10 million men—suffers from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, or an eating disorder not otherwise specified. 90% of these people never receive treatment. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, and carry with them a host of negative medical and psychological consequences, including osteoporosis, electrolyte imbalances, depression, and death – they have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses.
However, with proper treatment, full and lasting recovery is possible.
This information comes from Project HEAL, which is an organization that provides grant funding for people with eating disorders who cannot afford treatment, promotes healthy body image and self esteem, and serves as a testament thatfull recovery from an eating disorder is possible.
To me, a healthy body image and self esteem are so important. Running a food blog has its perks, however food, confidence, and well-being go more hand-in-hand than some people think. Though I have never suffered personally from an eating disorder, I know how it feels to be so uncomfortable in your own skin and not wanting to have anything to do with the body you're given. I know what it feels like to not have any confidence in any situation because you are not comfortable with how your body makes you feel. I've overcome these fears through discovering my own body peace as I've grown older and have written about my journey through various media outlets. As hungrygrl, I hope that my account aims to promote healthy, balanced eating and show that food does not have to be an enemy; I want people to feel empowered and self-confident with themselves and their life choices, especially when it comes to food. Though it is not possible to be completely happy with yourself every second of everyday, there is always room to love yourself more. That is why my only wish for my birthday is to raise money for an organization that promotes all of these things and helps those afford the proper treatment for such illnesses.
If this is a cause that you feel strongly about and you want to help me celebrate, please consider donating to my fundraising page where all of the money raised will be donated to Project HEAL on behalf of hungrygrl. And if you live in my neck of the woods of north Jersey, please consider stopping into zest of Fairfield this Sunday from 9 AM - 2 PM where 10% of every Blue Mermaid acai bowl sold will go to Project HEAL. The Blue Mermaid bowl (GF/DF/V, $10) is made with Blue Majik (blue green algae powder), organic unsweetened coconut milk, banana and pineapple blended to perfection and topped with banana, housemade gluten free granola and unsweetened shredded coconut.
For more information, please check out http://theprojectheal.org/ and feel free to reach out to me via email at hungrygrl_bigcity@aol.com For any questions and concerns.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support, and I hope you consider donating to this amazing cause!
XO,
Hungrygrl
