According to the World Bank, global food prices have increased by 75% since 2005 and 45% in the last nine months. In the past two months, the cost of rice, a staple food for over half of the world’s population, rose by 75%. The price of wheat has risen 120% during the past year.

Deadly protests and rioting over these increasing costs are occurring throughout Africa and Asia.

In Haiti, where 80% of the population survives on less than $2 a day, mass demonstrations turned deadly. Rioting in Les Cayes killed 4 and wounded at least 20. A few days later Haitians attempted to storm the presidential palace in Port-au- Prince shouting “We are hungry!”

In Egypt, where over 33% of the population live on around $2 a day, police took over a textiles plant to prevent a widespread strike over rising food costs. The military has been enlisted to bake bread to curb the growing anger. Read More »

So I know I’m not the only person who feels incredibly guilty after reading stories about abject poverty in other countries. Subsequently, I feel even worse when I put it out of my mind and get back to own, comparatively ridiculously affluent life.

So I’ve compiled a list of really great and easy ways to contribute to some incredibly worthy causes. Bonus: they’re all things you can do easily on your laptop at any time!

Free Rice: This handy little tool not only helps feed the hungry by donating rice to the United Nations World Food Program, it can also improve your vocabulary! Just answer as many vocabulary questions as you wish, and for each one you answer correctly, the advertisers on the page donate 20 grains of rice to the WFP. The questions increase in difficulty for each correct answer, and so does the amount of rice donated. It’s a win-win!

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