Popcorn for the People

Hubby loves the bagged popcorn you find in the chip aisle—something I’ve never been able to wrap my head around as long as I’ve known him.

I grew up on Pop Secret popcorn, and even that didn’t impress me too much. My parents would make it as a nightly snack, sprinkle it with flavor, and then enjoy it while watching a movie. Though the smell would always pique my interest, the pieces I’d sneak were a little bit of a letdown.

Because, we all know what popcorn, any popcorn, is striving to be, right?

It’s one of two things:

Movie theater popcorn, of which there is no replication. Move theater popcorn is movie theater popcorn. To enjoy it, you’ll need to swing by your local movie theater and consider where you stand on buying snacks from the movie theater without having seen a movie, or actually purchase a ticket and see a movie just so you won’t look silly walking around with a bag of movie theater popcorn outside of a movie theater*.

*Not silly to me, at all, promise.

But the second is that deliciousness which is neither movie theater popcorn nor chip aisle popcorn: the barrel popcorn*.

*I’m just going to go ahead and put “Kettle Corn” in this category right away. Because Kettle Corn is a thing of the gods and, in my world, fits in with the barrel popcorn.

You know the popcorn I’m talking about. The kind that pops* up around holidays and every house seems to have one or at least the empty barrel which now is used for storage**. The barrel can be divided into two or three or four or more sections filled with flavors of popcorn ranging from caramel to caramel and nuts to cheddar.

*Pun intended.

**I’m pretty sure my mom has at least two, and I’m equally certain she doesn’t use the things stored inside of them.

We don’t purchase them ourselves, but we all will dip a hand in if we see one, am I right?

Hubby and I stopped at a rest stop recently. We were taking a quick weekend getaway and before we were even out of New Jersey, we needed to stop for sustenance*. When we entered, there was a table set up with a few people standing at it, and a product spread in front of them. A young man was giving a rockstar sales pitch. Delivering it again and again to any person who entered the building.

*Translation: Starbucks.

By the time we ordered our coffee, I had heard the pitch maybe ten times and I was sold.

To be honest, whatever had been on that table, I was going to buy. Because as I listened to this young man boldly declare the goodness of the product, and then be met with the slight smile of some and the avoidance of others, I realized something.

This young man had autism. This young man had autism and he was out working, and working intensely. With the growing number of people in certain industries unwilling to work across our country today, I was impressed by his dedication, his persistence, and his positivity. He would deliver his message again and again, even if no one stopped at his table.

But, stop they did. After I made my purchase, I noticed just how many people were gravitating towards him and his product.

Popcorn for the People.

It’s a name that makes you want to know more. It’s a name that has a sense of empowering and uplifting others.

Popcorn for the People employs people with Autism and other disabilities. The popcorn is handcrafted, packaged, and sold by people with Autism. Their websites states that they use: non-GMO kernels and non-GMO sunflower oil, that they are kosher, and that all flavors (excluding Cookies n’ Cream) are gluten-free. 

That day, I purchased the two favorite flavors of the young man working: Cookies n’ Cream and Dark Chocolate Espresso. They were phenomenal. As good as any barrel popcorn I’ve ever enjoyed.

Afterwards, I went online to learn more about the company and ended up ordering one of every flavor* they sell.

*Two of some!

Each one I’ve tried has been delicious. My favorites have been the sweet coated ones like caramel, kettle, and dark chocolate espresso, but really, they’re all good.

If you’re in a popcorn mood, or have an avid popcorn lover in your life, do some good while also getting something delicious by ordering from Popcorn for the People.

As always, this is not a sponsored post. I simply found Popcorn for the People during my travels and want more than anything to support this local nonprofit in what they are doing.