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SALT LAKE CITY — In the center of a room filled with chocolate and strangers, Gina Baker stood stood Friday night to thank the 100 people in attendance for a night to remember: The Shot of Chocolate event she had organized to raise awareness — and much needed donations — for problems in the developing world had been a success.
Baker had organized the event to draw attention to vaccination deficiencies in developing nations, a problem the eradication of which would do more to save lives than fighting diseases that have already been contracted, according to Baker.
"Imagine if we were all about to enter kindergarten," Baker told the crowd of 100. "But 50 of us would never make it. That is the percentage of children who did not enter school this year because of vaccine-preventable diseases."
The people who were there were attending first and foremost to give to developing countries, but many had secondary motives: they wanted to learn more about their community and meet people with similar interests.
"Knowing that some of the best chocolate comes from some of the poorest countries — I wanted to help," said Portia Early, an attendee. "It's also nice to discover new chocolatiers, and this is a fabulous concept. We need more places for people to mingle outside of the bar scene."
And mingle, they did. Some came in groups of three or four, and some were alone. The two children in the crowd were chased away from a table full of shot glasses that read "Shot of Chocolate." Moving from table to table, small groups joined one another, united around their shared love of chocolate.
For the chocolatiers, it was an opportunity to get to know their community while helping the poorer nations from which their chocolate often comes.
Although chocolate slavery is a problem that needs to be eradicated, much of the chocolate tied to this problem comes from cocao beans grown in Africa. Most of the chocolate at Baker's event came from South America, with many of the chocolatiers cultivating close relationships with the growers.
To learn more about Shot at Life, visit their website.
"We in wealthier countries need to do all we can to help," said Cary Black with Food of the Gods Chocolate, based in Kaysville. "I don't think we'll ever eliminate disease, but we need to stop them as much as we can. These kids get these diseases and their life fulfillment is at an end. Everyone should have a chance."
A chance, given with chocolate, which in its purest form is healthier than popular culture would have people believe.
Erika Olsen of Chocolate Conspiracy said "pure chocolate has more antioxidants than blueberries or acai, has high levels of magnesium, which most Americans are lacking, and produces anandamide," fittingly known as the bliss chemical.
A common gift between loved ones, chocolate of any variety is a popular expression of love on Valentine's Day — and its ties to that most powerful of human emotions could help those in richer countries, regardless of how powerless they feel, reach out to others, out of love for man and chocolate.
"You don't have to be big or powerful to give," Baker said. "You can be big by doing something small."
