OPERATION BAKING GALS ~ Cookies For The Troops

 

The Troops Need Cookies!
I received an urgent email from a fellow blogger back in July sometime. It was Susan from She's Becoming DoughMESStic. She starts her email, "I have a cousin (though more like a brother since we grew up together) in the Army JAG Corp."  She's says in her first email, She goes on with her appeal, "So, I am looking for some volunteers. Could you maybe bake one thing, seal it up and ship it to him? If we all do this on the same day, maybe he’ll get them all about the same time. Imagine how happy all those homesick troops will be to have homemade goodies!!....."I think I will call it Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support)" ....SO, from now on, Operation Baking GALS will be supporting our troops every month, once a month, and instead of our soldiers getting deodorant and soap, they'll be getting the one thing they can't get from the canteen - Homemade goodies made with LOVE."

                                                                   

Well, the first month came and went. I felt bad for not signing up, after all, I was one of the first 20 she emailed. I didn't have a working oven at the time and no oven means no cookies! I don't think Susan had any idea what was to become of her efforts. OBG has gone far and wide and now has over 250 bloggers and bakers on 8 or 9 teams sending goodies to troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to the USS Abraham Lincoln Newspaper press releases, radio spots and bloggers have helped to spread the word. Susan is now waiting for Oprah to call! OPRAH, Where are you?

                                                                        

 
So, what's in my package?

• 6 huge Ooey, Gooey Chewy Chocolate Walnut Brownies.
• 18 Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• 1# bag of Skittles
• 2 boxes of single serving ice tea mixes
• And a post card from Newport. It's important that the troops feel connected to home and I think it's cool for them to know where the love is coming from!

                                        

Here's a few recipes to share:

• GOURMET CHOCOLATE FUDGE BROWNIES
• REESE'S CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUP BROWNIES
• CHEWY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

My package is going to out Jayne's nephew Joe, who is stationed in Afghanistan with the Air Guard. You can find out more about Joe from Jayne's blog, The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. Jayne is a fellow blogger also living in RI, just a few miles from me, so I thought I should support local troops???

                                                                   

I packaged them just the way Cat from The Cat's Pajamas explained. Use those nice disposable Ziploc Snap and Seal containers, line the cookies between sheets of paper towels and stick a piece of apple peel in the folds. Apparently, this keeps the cookies moist where bread would mold. She assured us that the guys would eat what's under the mold anyway!
                                                                            

If anyone is interested in sending a box of goodies to the troops, or if you know of someone in the armed forces that would be excited to get 20 or more boxes of goodies a month, get in touch with Susan from Operation Baking Gals and she'll hook you up with one of the team leaders.

Until next month, OBG unite!

Comments

[Susan]

Great post!! thanks so much - I'm thrilled to have you baking with us!!

[megan]

I'm on the same team and sent biscotti, gum, mints and candy. Those brownies sure look good! Those will be some happy troopers. :)

[Holly @ PheMOMenon]

Those brownies look ah-maz-ing! Great job!

[Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer]

This is a great program - Being Married to a Marine who was deployed I sent packages every week and the guys loved it. Snacks - trail mix - all good for them!! One thing I learned never mail chocolate in the summer it is a mess when it arrives.

[Danielle]

This is great! I'll be looking into it--my brother-in-law jsut got home from his second tour...we're very grateful to have him home safe--we need to support everyone as much as possible!

[Melanie @ Mel, A Dramatic Mommy]

Came over from Food Gawker. I adopted a soldier and just sent my first package 2 days ago. I didn't do anything homemade as I was curious to know how long it will take to get there.

A tip: I ordered free flat rate boxes from the USPS website and they delivered them to me for free. Hope that comes in handy.

I too am hoping to send out one box per month. The next one will definitely have something baked. I'll definitely stop be here for ideas. Thanks!

[Karen]

Just stumbled across your site through Food Gawker and wanted to say thank you for sharing this great info. about so many people sending homemade love to our troops! My husband, brother, and brother-in-law are all in different areas of the military and I send packages to them often. Some people tend to receive a lot of care packages while others receive none, so it's wonderful to send extras they can share. You could also organize a monthly cookie drive at your church to box up more items to send! It's a great way to find lots more people with time to bake one or two more dozen while you coordinate the collection. Great job and again, from a military wife, thank you!

[Jackie]

Hi, I too stumbled here from Food Gawker.

Danielle, I have sent my hubby packages to Iraq on a Saturday and many times he receives them on Thursday or Friday.

I have been wanting to get great recipes for home made cookies and you have awesome ones posted here. I also now learned from you how to ship home baked goods.

I think what you're doing is awesome. Thanks for supporting our men and woman.

[Jackie]

Opps sorry I typed Danielle a message but I meant it for Melanie.

[The Cat's Pajamas]

Hey there! I'm glad you took the advice, I had a wonderful time writing that up. I was shaking as I wrote about Operation Baking GALS because I think it's such a wonderful thing Susan has started. Our troops are very lucky to have supportive Americans such as yourself to boost their morale. Again, thank you so much for participating. This whole thing brings me to tears.
~Cat