Micro-Sponsorship Random Food Drops-Review Pt.1

A Reminder

Before I left for the trail, I contacted friends and family requesting if they wanted to send me a food drop. There was a good response rate and I left them with some broad guidelines. Beggars can’t be choosers. Hiking the trail is a good way of opening yourself to strangers. As such, I extended that to my food choices. I had no prior idea what would be in these food drops. I’m not picky, but there are some foods that I’ve refused to eat based on how they look i.e. potato salad, coleslaw, beans from a can, and milk. I mean, milk, coffee, and tea are no better than bad water right? Well, that’s what I thought for the longest time. I know, I get it, it’s weird, but that’s like anything.

Grandma P. -Duncannon, PA

When I was a child, my grandmother owned a general store in the country near Bone Lake. I loved visiting because I could ask for Butterfingers or walk in the walk-in fridge. I felt that again when she sent me my first food-drop. I think she still thinks of me as a child because of some of the things I received: string cheese, apple sauce packs, and these lunchable-like things. When I ate the apple sauce packs, I imagined my nephew and niece having the same in their lunch that day too. There was ramen and whole oranges. Another interesting part was the hummus and cracker combo pack. I felt like a kid again with all this food I snacked on all day. The blueberry flavor mix has inspired me to keep flavoring all the time now. Thanks, grandma!

Tammy & Tom -Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia

Tammy was slightly behooved when figuring out what to get me. I intentionally didn’t tell the food-droppers what I wanted. They can of course call my mom, an expert, for advice, but that’s as far as I went. Tammy sparkled in her first attempt. During the Roller Coaster of northern Virginia, a dark storm rolled in and dumped on me as I rolled into the Sam Moore Shelter. Soaked like a rat, I unrolled the tortillas and cooked some Mountain House (MH) fajitas, enough to make four burritos. The meal went down so better watching the rain pour off the tin roof. The MH meals were remarkable, powering me through the rolling mountains of Shenandoah. Of courses I was severely tempted by the waysides. I treasured the Oreos and the granola bars. She sent these oatmeal cups, coupled with the MH meals, it took up the most volume, but my pack has plenty of room. It was a great food drop, thanks Tammy.

Dale -Luray, VA- Sike!

The post-ladies in Luray got trigger happy returning Dale’s food drop before the thirty day waiting period had expired. With my trust in the post office severely shaken, I purchased my own food at Wal-mart. The food drop returned to Dale and he will be sending it to me in Pearisburg, VA. Hopefully, it will show up there with no shenanigans by the USPS.

Sister Sister -Waynesboro, VA

My sister is inventive. My mother hinted at my sister’s extensive research. More then anyone else, my sister put her personality into this project. She loves coffee, now I have a lot of coffee. Vanilla whey flavoring and dried goat’s milk came with the instant coffee. There’s these bunny rabbit crackers that I can dip with single-serving nutella packs. I remember devouring those plain animal crackers by the barrel-full and got sick of them. I did the same with most major candy bars, but the Nutella gives the bunny crackers an edge that I like. It’s like sister is walking through the grocery store, sees something and says to herself, “Christopher said he liked this” or “Christopher would love this.” She sent some MH’s and granola cereal for breakfast. I just started drinking coffee, regularly, when I visited a special someone in Russia. It was nice to have hot coffee in the morning. I know it’s weight, but I’m tinkering with the idea of carrying my Bialetti. Thanks sister sister.

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