It's easy for me to eat a lot of food, but it's hard for me to forget that there are others in the world that go without. 

This year, in addition to destroying Joey Chestnut at the Nathan's table, I will also be eating for a great cause: To raise money to donate to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository supplies food to more than 650 soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters across Cook County in Illinois. The donations that the organization receives help to feed the 678,000 people each year that rely on emergency and supplemental food services. 

There are two ways to donate:

* Dollars for Dogs: Pledge a set amount of money for each hot dog that I eat. Email your pledges to me at patrick.bertoletti@gmail.com before the contest. You can pledge whatever amount you want and after the contest, I will contact you for the payment. 

*Dollars for Deep Dish: Donate a set amount of money, regardless of how many hot dogs I eat. Donations can be made through this website, which is quick, easy and secure.

Every single cent that I receive will be donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. In addition to your donations, I will be matching every donation that I receive with my own money, up to $500.

This all sounds awesome, right? Wait! There's more! There's prizes!

The person that donates that largest amount will receive a piece of competitive eating history: a 2011 Nathan's shirt signed by ALL of the competitive eaters at this year's table! 

I will also be giving away a Deep Dish Eats sweatshirt and t-shirt to the second and third largest contributors. 

Thank you so very much for supporting me and for supporting the Greater Chicago Food Depository! 

-Patrick Bertoletti