Once again, Just Bento is proud to offer a great raffle prize for the annual Menu For Hope fund raising event, which will benefit the United Nations World Food Programme.

This year it's really personal: A hand-selected (by me, of course) box of bento boxes and accessories directly from Japan, plus...a signed copy of my upcoming book, The Just Bento Cookbook!

If you don't subscribe to Just Hungry, please click over there for the last Menu For Hope push! All you bento fans out there, the odds of winning the Just Bento prize are still pretty good I think! Sneezily yours...

[Update:] Menu For Hope has been extended to December 31st!

You thought that the Anniversary Giveaway was exciting? Well, here are some more goodies for you, plus you get to donate to a great cause!

Menu For Hope is an annual fundraising event, now it its 5th year, contributed to by food bloggers around the world. Last year, nearly US $100,000.00 was raised for the United Nations World Food Programme, to benefit the school lunch programme in Lesotho, Africa.

Menu For Hope's creator and head organizer is Pim of Chez Pim, and this year's regional Europe host is Sara of Ms. Adventures In Italy.

I'm very happy to announce that Just Bento is once again offering a raffle prize for Menu For Hope V!

The raffle results for Menu For Hope have been announced on Chez Pim. This year, $91,188.00 was raised. Wow. Thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets, and to my fellow food bloggers who offered such a great variety of prizes!

The winner of the Just Bento prize of a bento maker's dream package is Jennifer. (Check the list on Chez Pim to see if you are that Jennifer.) Jennifer, please get in touch with me at maki at makikoitoh dot com so we can discuss the where, how and what-goes-ins of your prize. My mom in Yokohama and I are poised and ready to fulfil your wishes.

This is the very last day you can donate to Menu For Hope! And a nice bonus - take a look at the beautiful poem about Lesotho <a href="http://sotho.blogsome.com/2007/02/08/my-country-my-home/'>here by Rethabile.

Just Bento is taking a few days off to take care of a ton of offline duties. We'll be back on the 26th, Boxing Day - an appropriate day to start talking about getting into the bento making spirit for 2008.

Happy Holidays!

I should never try to post blogs at 3 AM, because I omitted an important detail for the Menu For Hope prize description (which I've edited now). Any bento box featured up until the December 21st deadline as Bento Of The Week can be selected as your prize, even if the retail price goes over the limit. So if you fell in love with that gorgeous handcarved box that was featured last week, you can enter for a chance to win it!

Just Bento is happy to announce that we're donating a prize for Menu For Hope, now in its 4th year. Menu for Hope is an annual charity event contributed to by food bloggers around the world. It was instigated by Pim of Chez Pim, and this year's regional European host is Fanny of foodbeam.

Menu For Hope IV will benefit the United Nations World Food Programme; this year's donations have been earmarked for the school lunch programme in Lesotho, Africa.

We're calling our prize: The Bento Maker's Dream Package!