We all make choices about what we do with our time. Until recently I was one of those people who spent her time working, raising a family, planting a garden, and trying to be a good friend. I sent out checks at the end of the year to organizations I deemed worthwhile, but my public service was, simply put, limited. To be perfectly frank there weren't many "extra" free hours in my day that needed to be filled. At least that's what I used to think.

Then I met Jim Britt. Stick with me; I promise this story is going somewhere. I was cooking and signing books at an event called "East Meets West," at Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine. Chefs from around the country gathered under a huge white tent to serve hundreds of people delicious food and sign their cookbooks. As I dished out salmon and ginger cakes, and lobster salad stuffed into crunchy endive spears to the extremely well-dressed crowd, I didn't have a clue that my life was about to change. Jim Britt wanted to buy a book for his wife. I signed the book and he took out his wallet. He only had a $10 bill and the book was $30. He turned beet red (almost matching his shock of red hair) and mumbled all sort of apologies. "I'll send you the money tomorrow," he moaned with a look of huge embarrassment. "No problem," I said and I meant it. Several days later a check came with an invitation to dinner with Britt and his wife, Gillian, who own a public relations agency in Portland. We talked for hours about restaurants, the food scene in Maine, kids, dogs, and more.

Then he mentioned Share our Strength. Britt was president of the southern Maine chapter of this national organization that helps fight childhood hunger. "Would you want to be on the board?" he asked innocently. Me? A board member? More time commitments? No way. I'm a busy woman.

I went home that night and couldn't stop thinking about Share our Strength. I didn't even know Maine had a serious childhood hunger issue. And in all honesty, it wasn't something I had spent much time thinking about. So I did some research.
Here's what I found out:
" 19,375 Maine children are hungry each day and an additional 64,087 children are at risk of hunger.
" Children living in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger are more likely to have health or school-related problems.
" One out of every eight Maine residents receives Food Stamps.
" More than 108,000 Maine school children receive subsidized school lunches.
" 40% of school-age children in Maine are hungry or at risk for hunger, according to the Maine Millennium Commission on Hunger and Food Security.
" One-in-five Portland households are food insecure.

I thought about all these facts and figures for days. I thought about the girl in my oldest daughter's kindergarten class who cried one morning when I was volunteering because she was so hungry. The next day I picked up the phone and called Britt. "I would love to join the board of Share our Strength," I told him.At the first meeting I was overwhelmed by the passion of the others sitting around the table: a lawyer, a chef, restaurant executives, an advertising and public relations guy, a realtor, a hotel manager. In just over two years I have found that working for Share our Strength, trying to make a difference in a child's life, has become one of the most important "jobs" I hold. It's also one of the most fun (a great board means great meetings). In the last two years Southern Maine's SOS chapter has raised over $80,000 - each one of those dollars stays in the state going to organizations such as Cultivating Community, East End Kids Katering, and Maine Equal Justice Partners. This year we are adding Preble Street Resource Center to the list of beneficiaries and are looking to raise at least $50,000.

I'd like to invite you to help. Join us this year for our third annual Southern Maine Taste of the Nation dinner. The event will be held on June 22, 2008 (from 4 to 8 p.m.), on Cow Island, the gorgeous property owned by Rippleffect in Casco Bay, off the coast of Portland. Some of the state's top chefs will be cooking a stellar five course meal-Rob Evans from Hugo's, Sam Hayward of Fore Street, Jeff Landry of Eve's at the Portland Harbor Hotel, and chefs from Back Bay Grill, Bresca, Brown Trading Company, and 555 of Portland, Maine. The afternoon starts aboard a schooner off Portland Harbor, complete with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. This is not only a great way to help needy families in Maine, but it's one of the best parties of the year. I kid you not.

A ticket for the five-course dinner, including round-trip transportation, and drinks, is $125. VIP tickets, which include an earlier launch and private schooner party, are available for $175. For more information about the event or to buy tickets, go to www.sosportland.org/index.htm. You can also buy tickets at Whole Foods in Portland. You can also learn more about hunger in Maine by viewing a documentary photography project Share our Strength produced last year.

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