This month I signed up to be a Foodie Penpal at The Lean Greenbean. I’d read about it somewhere out there in the ether and thought it would be something interesting to try.
The penpal match up works like this – at the beginning of the month, I received my penpal pairing via email. I then had to contact her to get her mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions. I then had until the 15th of the month to put my box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, I will post about the goodies I receive from my 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. Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers.
Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? I put some local items and a couple of homemade items in the box for my penpal Natasha at A Daily Dose of Healthy. The only dietary restriction she mentioned is that she is a pescetarian, which is easy enough to deal with – I had no intention of sending meat through the Canadian mail system.
My offerings were some of the honey from the apiary that keeps hives on my in-law’s property, some fudge made by Community Living – a local program that helps teach adults with disabilities to live independantly, and some jam called “Toe Jam” made in another small town close to mine. Don’t worry, its made with berries. I added in my own coconut oil granola and cajun spiced walnuts. I hope she likes it.
Now I await my package. The person sending my package is different from the person I sent one off to. I guess that keeps it interesting.
You’ll see what I receive when I write about it at the end of the month.
lightlycrunchy 
That sounds like a lot of fun! I’ll look forward to seeing what you receive. I think your recipient will be pleased with your choices.
That sounds sooo awesome! once my schedule lightens up a bit, I will have to come back to this and sign up! It’s awesome to get random packages in the mail. Love it!
I know! I never get anything in the mail but flyers and bills. This will be a welcome change
Such lovely offerings! I love that you included homemade items. Foodie Pen Pals is such a great idea. I love Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean! I signed up in April, sent out my package and my pen pal on the other end bailed on me. I got nothing. I know it’s silly but it seriously made me sad, like no gifts on Christmas morning or something. Anyway, I know you’ll have a better experience and hope you get wonderful things! Can’t wait to see your reveal!
That’s disappointing! I’ll be bummed if I get nothing in return, especially since Canada Post charged me more to send the box than the contents were worth. Learning experience.. next time I’ll mail lighter stuff.
Ha ha. I had the same experience with postage. A bit of a shocker, eh? I think that the non-return rate within the pen pal system has got to be almost nil. I’m sure you will get your box and that it will be fantastic!
Look forward to your venture – will stay tuned to see what you get. I like the items you gave–creative and tasty.
What a cool idea. I’m jealous. I think I need to join this fun! Can’t wait to see what goodies arrive in your mail soon…
woah that’s the best idea! I would be like a little kid waiting at the mailbox for days! I don’t get anything except bills and junk in my letterbox either. I can’t wait to see what you receive! What you are sending made my mouth water 🙂
Sounds like fun! I would love some toe jam – sounds yummy and so does everything else! I hope you enjoy the box – I imagine part of the fun is the suspense! 🙂
Sounds fun, I look forward to seeing what you get!
Fun idea! Your coconut oil granola sounds great, too!
This is our first month participating in the Foodie Pen Pals program. What did you receive from your pen pal in May? Are you doing it again this month?
I’m not going to do it again this month – only because I found the shipping in Canada was more than the contents were worth. I didn’t receive anything back, but it was totally my fault – I found my return email to the woman that was supposed to send my package in my “drafts” box in my email. Dont know what happened there, but it was totally my fault – I didnt discover it until almost the 30th of the month. I did get a really nice thankyou from the woman that I sent a package to though. That made me feel good about it.