Our best bag ever?

Nearly 700 volunteers (including kiddos) have
distributed almost 27,000 sack lunches.

THE SURPRISE INSIDE

For a long time, the contents of our sack lunches have been – well – quite consistent. After all, why tinker with what works?

There’s only so much square footage in a standard issue brown paper sack, and didn’t someone once say, “If the food fits, you must not quit” (or something like that)?

To those we serve, they’ve known exactly what to expect for six straight years – an Arby’s sandwich, Pringles, cookies, an organic fruit strip, bottled water and a devotional.

And we thought that was a good thing – kinda like how Kentucky Fried Chicken maintained Colonel Sanders’ Original Recipe®.

But even the colonel is kicking his bucket around these days with grilled bird instead of fried, so we thought we’d give change a whirl, too.

For starters, our Denver team stuffed 35 sacks on Nov. 3 with submarine sandwiches from Arby’s instead of the “regulars” we normally serve that look like a burger.

In Tulsa, the change was more drastic, dramatic and jaw-dropping, where an estimated 80 people opened their bags to find Chick-Fil-A on Nov. 6.

The Chick-Fil-A sandwich was a pilot run that we’ll probably just do periodically (due to the increased cost). But there are some permanent changes in progress.

The Pringles are gone, replaced by good old-fashioned Fritos because their ingredients are simpler (corn, oil, salt – that’s all).

We’re also substituting the 0.5 oz organic fruit strips with a soft-baked, whole-grain, all-natural 1.2 oz Kashi snack bar. (The strawberry, apple and blackberry Kashi bars are simply more filling.)

Individual servings of carrots have also found their way inside our sacks, and we’re contemplating an Andes after-dinner mint to top things off.

Change is good. In this case, it’s about being health-conscious and making our bags a little better (and maybe more fun).