Meghan Markle Shows Off Her Baking Skills For An Important Cause

Although there's no denying that becoming the Duchess of Sussex has brought Meghan Markle some pain and difficulty (cue the video of Oprah saying, "Were you silent, or were you silenced?), the former royal continues to use her platform for good (via The New York Times).

Markle, whose baking preferences were well-documented on her former blog, The Tig, whipped up something particularly special for Women's History Month (via InStyle). Using lemons picked from her very own garden in Montecito, California, Markle baked a lemon olive oil cake and had it sent to women receiving a meal at World's Central Kitchen in Chicago.

"We hope you enjoy the offering we baked for you — a small token of thanks, from our home to yours," Meghan and Harry expressed in a note that accompanied the cake. "Our hope with this effort is to show that, when we all participate, even the smallest actions can have a ripple effect. Even individual actions can impact the whole of us."

Meghan and Harry are steadfast supporters of World Central Kitchen and its founder chef José Andrés' efforts to distribute meals to the hungry, with efforts ramping up around the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair first announced their collaboration with World Central Kitchen — via their Archewell Foundation — in late 2020 (via Bloomberg).

Combating food insecurity is clearly an issue near and dear to Meghan and Harry's hearts. In addition to their efforts with the World Central Kitchen — and their support in the creation of four Community Relief Centers in vulnerable environments — Harry and Meghan just this week donated £10,000 pounds (about the equivalent of $13,700) to the U.K.-based organization Himmah (via Harper's Bazaar).

The funds come from money raised via Meghan's 2018 cookbook, Together: Our Community Cookbook, from which initial proceeds benefited Hubb Community Kitchen. Although director of Himmah, Sajid Mohammed, is grateful for her donation, it took some time for it to sink in that this was a real contribution from Meghan herself, and not some sort of prank." For ages I thought the whole thing was a hoax! They kept emailing me and ringing me about the donation saying it was from the Duchess of Sussex and I just couldn't believe it—I was utterly gobsmacked and hugely humbled that Meghan knew about our charity and wanted to support us," Mohammed told Harper's Bazaar. "It's an absolutely incredible sum and we're so very grateful."

And while there can only be one Duchess of Sussex, the rest of us can at least settle for making some Meghan-approved recipes (via Bustle) — or even volunteering at your local food kitchen.