The Cent of a Dead Pig

First, let's be clear - I really don't like pennies. I haven't liked them for years. They don't spend well, they are noisy in your pocket, and let's face it - their time has passed.

Mandy found a web site for The Penny Experiment and although I don't like pennies, I do like what Jeffery Strain is doing with his (I would have stomped on it or kicked it and moved on down the road). My daughter, however, decided to help him out.

Meanwhile, the kid down the street, who is in FFA (Future Farmers of America), is raising a pig for his project this year. The school year is drawing to a close and the pig is tipping the scales upwards of 280 pounds so the project is drawing to a close. I know this because the kid showed up at the door asking me if I wanted to buy half (or all) of the pig. I was reluctant to do so but after reading Mandy's post on The Penny Experiment I decided I might have some use for a side of pork.

I sent an email to Jeffery and offered to donate a side of pork in exchange for 30 of his pennies (I have a secret plan to turn those pennies into even MORE food bank donations). To my surprise he shot me down! This was (part of) his reply..

Thank you for your email and the very creative idea. I am always willing to think outside the box and get creative. I actually like your idea quite a bit, but I don't know if it will work out financially. My hope is to add enough value to get $25 for each of the remaining pennies I have. That would mean that 30 pennies would be $750 and with the couponers getting $8+ for every dollar they spend at the moment, that would be $5700+ worth of food to the food banks....

I must admit, I was quite amused by the response. I quickly responded and my open line was "A negotiation! How fun". This post is getting kind of long but the bottom line was I reduced my asking price to 8 of his pennies (I'll include the whole conversation below but I'm sure some of you are already getting tired of the post).

Jeffery agreed, I called the North Texas Food Bank (214-347-9597 for those of you that have more food than you need and can afford to share it with folks who have less food than they need) and made the arrangements.

So the pig has a new found purpose and I have 8 pennies to sell. That's right, I've got pennies to sell.

I need to charge $30 each for the first four pennies. The money you spend on your new penny will go back to Jeffery to help him with his project. If you act right now (and live close enough to pick it up) I will throw in 10 pounds of my home made sausage with each of the four pennies sold. You pick the kind (Brautwurst, Italian, Polish or William Tell Polish).

If the pennies sell fast I've got some other ideas to further this effort. Who wants to help me get a thousand pounds of meet to the food shelter?

==============================================
And for those of you who care - The negotiation...
==============================================

Jim,

Thank you for your email. Please keep me up to date on the loop as time permits -- this is a long term project, so no rush. Hope to hear about confimations that all will work out and we can move forward.

Jeffrey Strain

On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 6:50 AM, Crawford, Jim wrote:
> Sorry - I'm out of town and not doing email every day.
>
> 1) Mandy (one of your coupon / blogger supporters) is my youngest child. She's all grown up and married. I spent the first third of my life doing things for me and the second third of my life doing things for the kids. The way I see it, the last third is all about serving others. Your experiment seems to hit that target. As far as "what's in it for me" -- that was the first third. It's not all about me anymore (but thanks for caring).
>
> 2) My wife volunteered for at the McKinney food bank at some point in the past and we believe they can take the donation. I'll have to check (and will do so prior to delivering the pig). We live in Dallas so I'll be surprised if I can't find one that will but if we reach an agreement don't send me the pennies until all those details are a done deal (good thought on your part).
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeffrey Strain [mailto:savingadvice@gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 5:15 PM
> To: Crawford, Jim
> Subject: Re: Outside the Box
>
> Jim,
>
> Thank you for your email. I'm certainly interested in this because, as
> you said, I will need help from others to make this work and I love
> the creativity of showing different ways that food can be donated. I
> have two concerns.
>
> 1. What do you get out of this. One of the things that I want to make
> sure is that everyone who participates is getting at least equal value
> (if not more) for the work they do. In the same way that I have been
> refusing donations (I tell those that offer to donate directly to
> their local food bank), I need to make sure that you feel that you
> will be getting value by participating.
>
> 2. Do you have a local food bank or food kitchen that will accept the
> pork as a donation. many have restrictions so you need to make sure
> that there is a place that you can donate it to before we proceed.
>
> Again, thank you for wanting to participate and look forward to
> hearing your answer.
>
> Jeffrey Strain
>
> Make sure that your local food bank or kitchen will be able to take
> the donation
>
> On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 9:50 AM, Crawford, Jim wrote:
>> A negotiation. How fun.
>>
>> Ok, here's what I came up with. First, I figure the side of pork will end up being 80% of 140 pounds (the pig weighs 280 on the hoof) so we're probably talking about 112 pounds of meat. I really don't know what the average price per pound is for pork but let's say $1.50 so we're likely looking at $168 worth of meat delivered to the food bank (about 6 cents worth by your calculations). Before I write the blog about all this I will approach a grocery store and get a price on a side of pork so you'll have a real number for your records.
>>
>> Let's make it 8 cents and I'll do it. I'll buy the whole pig and make a portion of the other side into sausage (I do sausage as a hobby) and I'll sell the other 2 pennies (maybe all 8 - depends on the folks buying the sausage) for $25 each and throw in 10 pounds of my sausage (I have a bunch of friends who like my sausage and a while back when they told me they wanted to buy some. I decided I wouldn't sell it because that would turn the hobby into work - up to this point I only give it away).
>>
>> If it turns out I generate more interest in buying a penny for $25 and getting 10 pounds of free sausage I may hit you up for more pennies but for now I'll commit to the two. The other 6 pennies are mine to do what I please with (but I'm going to try to find some creative ways to support your effort).
>>
>> Once I start getting paid for the pennies I sell, you tell me where to send the money and I will.
>>
>> In my "never to be humble" opinion, to reach your million dollar goal you are going to need to come up with a plan that pyramids out and has a bunch of other folks trying to leverage your investments for growth and food deliveries.
>>
>> Let me know what you think.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Jeffrey Strain [mailto:savingadvice@gmail.com]
>> Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2010 2:08 AM
>> To: Crawford, Jim
>> Subject: Re: Outside the Box
>>
>> Jim,
>>
>> Thank you for your email and the very creative idea. I am always
>> willing to think outside the box and get creative. I actually like
>> your idea quite a bit, but I don't know if it will work out
>> financially. My hope is to add enough value to get $25 for each of
>> the remaining pennies I have. That would mean that 30 pennies would
>> be $750 and with the couponers getting $8+ for every dollar they
>> spend at the moment, that would be $5700+ worth of food to the food
>> banks. I thought about giving gardeners money as well, but I can't
>> get those numbers to work out on par with the couponers either. If
>> you have a way to resolve this or if I am greatly underestimating the
>> value of the side of a pig, please let me know as I do like the idea
>> if I can make the numbers work. I really do appreciate the though you
>> have put into this and the creativity as I know I will have to come
>> up with unique ways to reach the goal.
>>
>> Jeffrey Strain
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 7:15 AM, Crawford, Jim wrote:
>>> I've got an offer that is outside your regular approach to adding
>>> food to the food bank...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Two things happened this week. My daughter came
>>> over and told me all about her couponing for your cause. Prior to
>>> that my neighbor's kid (member of FFA) came over and asked me if I
>>> wanted to buy the pig he raised for this year's school project.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Here's my offer. Send me 30 of those pennies and I'll buy the pig,
>>> have it processed and donate half (a side of pork) to a food
>>> shelter. The pig weighs 280 pounds. I'm not sure what the
>>> processing loss is but I expect we can increase your food $$$ total
>>> by over 50% (not bad for 30 pennies) I've got an idea on how I can raise even more for you using the 30 pennies....
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Oh, and I'll blog about it all so you can have some more links to play with.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> If you're in, let me know fast (before the kid sells the pig to
>>> someone
>>> else) and send the pennies to:
>>>
>>>