I recently discovered this amazing program called Foodie PenPals. To sum it up in a few sentences, you sign up, the amazing Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean Blog pairs you up with another Foodie PenPal within your country (currently this takes place in Canada, the US, and the UK!), you connect with the Foodie PenPal that you’ll be sending to (and your Foodie PenPal will contact you), then go shopping! Package up your goodies with a hand written note or card, or recipe, and patiently wait for your package to arrive! Easy no?!This was my first month participating, and my Foodie PenPal was a family in Newfoundland who unlike me, had participated previously. They send me a beautiful package full of amazing and thoughful items! It was a pretty big box so I was beside myself excited when I saw that it had arrived! I participated in a similar program for a few years called Secret Girl Friends, but unlike the Foodie PenPal program, you don’t know who you’re receiving from, and you’re supposed to keep your identity a secret! I also participated in a junk food exchange with a girl from across the pond many years ago, so to hear of a similar program I was excited to jump on board.
My kids love mail nearly as much as I, so I decided to wait for them to get home from preschool prior to opening the box. I decided to make the experience somewhat of a learning opportunity as well so we got out the good ole’ globe to see exactly where our package came from.
 |
| I assure you, the kids were more excited than this picture shows! |
 |
| A hand written letter greeted us upon opening the box. |
My Foodie PenPal took the time to label each item in the box and write up a sort of a “legend” talking about what each item is, and where it came from. I think my favorite so far has been the blueberry jam. Blueberries grow wild in Newfoundland (so I’m told!) and this jam was much different than I’ve had before! It was delish and is almost completely gone! We also received a chocolate bar that was purchased while they were on vacation to a small island on off the coast of NL that is actually France! We also received blueberry tea! Yumm! Also included were dried mango, pineapple, and papaya (I think) I added them to the kids lunches and they loved them!! There are also two fruit and nut bars that will come to work with me, and finally two sugar free lollipops for the kids!
 |
| The kids loved their lollipops and couldn’t wait to break into them! |
Look at all this delicious stuff!
A big huge thank you to my Foodie PenPal for your thoughtfulness! I hope that my Foodie PenPal enjoys her package as much as I do! I can’t wait to participate again! I’m really looking forward to participating again this month!
Now, don’t you wanna join in the fun?! Here are the Foodie Penpals details:
-On the 5th of every 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 are 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 Penplas is open to US & Canadian 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.
-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 are 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 Penplas is open to US & Canadian 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.
If you’re interested in participating for September, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.
You must submit your information by September 4th as pairings will be emailed on September 5th!
Enjoy!
Are you following on social media? Find BentoMomma on:
Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube // Pinterest
What a great FPP parcel you got!
I know!! I did well for my first time! Really looking forward to September!
The blueberry jam sounds delicious! There’s nothing like locally-grown, wild jam. (Visiting from Foodie Penpals.)
It was delicious! So different from any I’ve had before too. Sad that it’s almost gone already though! 🙂