Project Popcorn

I'm not entirely sure how this exactly started, but I have an idea. It probably happened at supper one night when one or both of the kids didn't want to eat their food. At that point I'm guessing either Jeremy or I launched into that famous speech that every single parent in North America has used at least once in their lifetime. You probably know the one I'm referring to because every single person who grew up in North America heard it at least once when they were a kid... "You should just eat your food and be thankful for it! Did you know that there are kids in Africa who don't have any food at all and they would be so happy for what you have on your plate?!!"

Fast forward to a couple of nights ago. We were eating our supper and visiting when Sam all of a sudden blurted out, "I feel sad for the people in Africa who don't have any food." Jeremy and I both picked up on the cue that this was one of those "Teachable Moments" so we started to talk about it. We asked the kids what we could do for the people in Africa and this is the plan we came up with:

1. Make a bunch of Caramel Popcorn (the kids call it "Brown Popcorn")
2. Divide it into small bags
3. Sell the popcorn at a rather high price (and since the kids helped in the making and packaging of the popcorn our target market is people who are more concerned about kids than they are about food safe!)
4. Donate the proceeds to a non-profit organization who is helping in Africa (a couple that we trust are Global Aid Network and Food for the Hungry)



I know it's just a little thing, but so were those five loaves and two fish that Jesus used to feed 5000! Who knows what He'll do with our few bags of popcorn?!!

If you want to join us in this project here is our recipe for
"Brown Popcorn":

1 cup of popping corn, popped (dump into a large oven safe container. I use a big stock pot, but a roasting pan would work well too)
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup margarine
1/2 cup corn syrup
bring to boil over med. heat stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
Pour over popcorn and stir well. Bake at 250 for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on table to cool. Store in airtight container.