World Porridge Day is an international event related to porridge

Porridge

Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...

. The event is organized to raise funds for the charity Mary's Meals

Mary's meals

Mary's Meals is a school feeding movement and the name of a charity formerly known as Scottish International Relief . It was founded in 2002 and has grown from its first feeding operation of 200 children in Malawi, to a world-wide campaign, providing free school meals in hundreds of schools and...

, based in Argyll

Argyll

Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and to raise awareness about its efforts to aid starving children in developing countries, particular those in Africa stricken by drought. The organization "feeds the nutrient-rich maize-based porridge Likuni Phala to about 320,000 children in Malawi each year." The 2009 celebration included gatherings in the U.S., France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

, Bosnia and Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

2009 event

The 2009 celebration included the awarding of the Golden Spurtle

Spurtle

The spurtle is a Scots kitchen tool, dating from at least the fifteenth century. It was originally a flat, wooden, spatula-like utensil, used for flipping oatcakes on a hot griddle....

 award at the World Porridge Championships in Carrbridge

Carrbridge

Carrbridge is a village in Badenoch and Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands. It lies off the A9 road on the A938 road, west of Skye of Curr, southeast of Findhom Bridge, near Bogroy.It has the oldest stone bridge in the Highlands and nearby ancient pine forest contains the Landmark Forest...

, Invernessshire, won by Mathew Cox from Milwaukie, Oregon

Milwaukie, Oregon

Milwaukie is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1848 on the banks of the Willamette River, the city, known as the Dogwood City of the West, was incorporated in...

. Ian Bishop was the 2008 champion. Anna Louise Batchelor, an environmental researcher from Reading, Berkshire

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

, won the 2009 title of World Porridge Making Champion.