Why I Won’t Ever Do Foodie Penpal Again

Ugh. Just ugh. You know, I really hate to call people out on things but this has been bugging me for a very long time and I think people should be aware before they sign up for Green Beans Foodie Penpal program. I am a firm believer in communication and I think people should be responsible for their actions. So, this is the consequence to their actions. I’ve sat on this post for a few months, and I have seen quite a few people complaining about the program, so I think it’s time for me to speak up.

I’ve been a part of the Foodie Penpal program off and on for about 2 years. I have participated maybe 5 or 6 times. Of those times I have had 2 good experiences. One of those experiences I am still connected with on Facebook and she has her own foodie blog. The other experience is a fellow Shinedown fan, and even though we don’t chat daily, every once in a while we drop each other a line. She was also my first foodie pen pal.

I’ve always gone out of my way to include extras in my boxes and give a personal touch with homemade gift takes and homemade food items. These boxes have a $20 cap and that doesn’t include the shipping. I often go over both.

For my last box, I send a ton of Paleo inspired treats as she had mentioned she was following this lifestyle.  Yes, some of the things I sent were samples, but other things were items I had made in my own kitchen and some I went and picked out and purchased on my own. I am not a Paleo follower so I had to even do a little research. She didn’t like salt so I made her homemade sunflower seeds with no salt that game from my garden.

I told her I was going to be late. She knew that. She was going to be late too. Then I was sick. I had hoped to get a box out in time and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get something out to her. So, I asked her if I could send her a Paleo box from Thrive Market. Yes, this was fine. Well, as good luck comes around, I did not have to do that. So, I mailed out her box. She told me a few days later mine had been mailed.

I waited and waited some more. It still has not arrived. Emails go unanswered.

This is not the first time I have gone through this. And, I am not the only person this has happened to. My friend Nicole and I Heart Food got burned a few times too.

My first penpal swap came and went without a hitch. I was thrilled, as she was just as much of a Shinedown fan as I was. I had one that did not go well at all. She wasn’t a blogger which didn’t make much sense to pair a blogger up with a non blogger since bloggers (at the time, things may be different now) were required to write and share a pot.

She didn’t listen to anything I told her and ended up sending me three things. None of which I would/could eat. So, that prompted me to create the Get to Know Me – Foodie Edition. I had a few more pen pals in there. One swapped. One didn’t. Then I swapped with Sara who blogs over at Not So Doughie. and we even stayed in touch for a bit after that. Then, I had another one who didn’t send.

I don’t know why I kept doing the program. I had talked to Green Bean about it and of course their wasn’t much she could do other than remove the person from the program. I even tried discussing the pairing of bloggers with bloggers. Especially since Green Bean had a linky post (it just so happens she did away with this last week) that you were to link your post to.

So, I’ve been burned too many times by the foodie pen pal program. I suggest pairing with your favorite foodie bloggers and arranging your own foodie swap. 🙂

Have you ever participated in a pen pal program only to not get something in return?