The recent earthquake in Turkey has caused massive devastation and suffering, and created a humanitarian crisis.  Two of the hardest hit cities are Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa, which is where the mint for our Peppermint bar and the Urfa Chili for our Black Urfa Chili bar are from.  We source both from Burlap and Barrel, and they source directly from the farmers in those regions.

As soon as we heard news of the quake we checked with the owners of Burlap and Barrel, Ethan Frisch and Ari Zohar, but they have yet to hear from either of their farmers.

The crisis is made worse by the fact the United Nations is already stretched thin due to the war in Ukraine.  As a result we’ve sent donations to two groups who are helping in the region:  The International Rescue Committee and the International Committee of the Red Cross.  Any donation will help, and if you’re able we urge you to consider a giving to either of these groups, or a charity of your choice.  We recommend Charity Navigator and GuideStar as useful tools for evaluating charities before giving.

Tom was living in Northridge, California when a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit, and the experience was terrifying.  The sound was deafening, and the ground was moving so violently it was impossible to stand up.  Luckily the house he was in stayed standing, but many of the structures in Turkey and Syria did not.  The quake that hit Gaziantep was a magnitude 7.8, which is 31 times stronger than the Northridge quake.

We’ve traveled extensively in Turkey and our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.

When we have any information about how the farmers and their families are doing we’ll share it here.

Halil-ur Rahman Mosque in Şanlıurfa.