Foodie Pen Pals

This past month I participated in a new venture called Foodie Penpals, organized by Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean.  Basically the program entails receiving and giving a package full of food goodies with complete strangers.  It was my first time participating and what fun I had!  My package was sent to rural Newfoundland with a request to send local goodies.  The package I received came from Ashley in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  It contained a pkg of chocolate hazelnut granola, red pepper jelly, a Newfoundland chocolate bar, treats for my kids, some family recipes and a jar of bakeapple jam.  The kids were absolutely thrilled that a stranger would think to send them candy!  It was such a thoughtful touch to include something for them.  I was excited to try the bakeapple jam, which I’ve learned is made from a fruit native to Newfoundland.  Made by Ashley’s father, this delicacy was something I had never even heard of before.  The bakeapple is not an apple at all, but rather a fruit closer to a blackberry with a uniquely tart flavour. 

Overall the foodie penpal experience was a positive one for me and I’m excited to give it a try in August.  Buying the items for the package I sent was just as much fun as receiving one.  If you’d like to participate, see the info below.  It is open to anyone and a great chance to bring a little foodie excitement into your life at a low cost and small commitment.
Here’s a detailed explanation of the program:
- On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada! ***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get invol