Boy Scouts Sell Popcorn for the Troops

Boys at Charger game, getting ready to work the stadium parking lot. Photo submitted by Janine Koffel

The smell of popcorn, warm and buttery, wafts from the garage as the door rolls up. Boxes stacked several feet high are grouped by taste: kettle corn, caramel with almonds and pecans, extra butter and butter light, and caramel with peanuts. Customs forms wait to be completed and the sales banner is ready to hang.

With the advent of fall, it’s also Boy Scout Popcorn sales time and Operation Popcorn Kernel II.

Last year, the initial Operation Popcorn Kernel resulted in more than 1,000 popcorn care packages being sent to U.S. Marines and sailors stationed in Iraq.

Jacob Koffel and Sam Abbott, two Boy Scouts with Ramona Troop 630, and John Koffel, a Webelos Scout with Ramona Pack 678, brainstormed the idea of sending Boy Scout popcorn to the troops as a way of thanking them for their service to their country.

The youths set up a stand selling popcorn outside Stater Brothers Market, and local residents purchased either microwave popcorn or caramel popcorn with nuts, wrote a note of appreciation, and turned both over to the Scouts to pack and ship to Iraq.

Lt Col. Jeff Koffel, a U.S. Marine stationed at the time at Al Asad airbase, coordinated the distribution of the popcorn to more than 14 military units in western Iraq. Each Scout received a unit coin as a token of appreciation from the various squadrons and units that received popcorn care packages.

Because U.S. troops remain in Iraq, the Scouts decided to undertake Operation Popcorn Kernel II, to send more notes and treats to the Marines and sailors. Sales began Sept. 11, and twenty cases already are packed and ready to ship.

Koffel returned home in March but is slated to return to Iraq in February. In the meantime, the popcorn care packages will be shipped to units operating out of Al Asad airbase. Pre-popped caramel corn goes to Marines working on the front lines, while the microwave popcorn is distributed to men and women living in the barracks, where they have access to microwaves.

The boys would like to double the number of messages going to Iraq this year. A sales table is located outside the Ramona Stater Brothers Wednesday through Friday afternoons and the boys intend to work the parking lot during Chargers games as well as local sporting and community events.

Residents can buy individual items or buy popcorn by the case to send with their messages of encouragement and support. Last year’s response was so strong that messages to attach to popcorn were solicited from the San Diego Police Department, James Dukes and Ramona Community school classrooms, and from students and staff members at Ramona High School. Folks from as far away as Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Oregon and Washington wrote to Marines, buying more than $9,450 worth of Boy Scout popcorn.

Proceeds from the sales support local Boy and Cub Scout activities and each boy earns a commission. Jacob and Sam used their profits to pay their way to the National Boy Scout Jamboree held in July at Fort AP Hill in Virginia. John earned enough to purchase a new tent and is saving the balance to put toward learning how to fly glider planes. The sales team this year will be joined by 7-year-old Tiger Scout, Joe Koffel, and fourth-grader Webelos Scout Thomas Abbott to increase their sales efforts.

For more information about Operation Popcorn Kernel II or to place an order, contact Janine Koffel at (760) 518-6425 or visit the San Diego-Imperial Council Boy Scouts of America Web site at www.sdicbsa.org.

Sales will end Oct. 30, so early purchases are encouraged.