Unique Snacks raises money from pretzel sales to support military charity

To raise money for the nonprofit Folds of Honor and support its mission to create scholarships for the spouses and children of wounded and fallen service members and first responders, Reading-based Unique Snacks designed a specially branded package of its 11-ounce Original Splits pretzels.

In 2022, Unique Snacks sold 251,796 of these packages, featuring a red, white and blue design with stars and stripes and the Folds of Honor logo, raising $12,589.80. Unique Snacks donates five cents from each purchase to Folds of Honor.

The funds raised by the local Folds of Honor chapter are used to create scholarships for the spouses and children of service members and first responders living in Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“Throughout the pandemic and the following uncertainties in our nation, we continually hear about people’s struggles, but we rarely hear about the hardships our service members’ or first responders’ families face,” Justin Spannuth, chief operating officer of Unique Snacks, said in a release. “Many of these families are dealing with the loss of a loved one and that impact on the immediate family. … We are calling on our retail partners and loyal customers to participate in this crucial program and make 2023 the year we raise the highest amount of support for our military and first responder families.”

The annual Folds of Honor campaign runs from May through August at many retail partners, including Boyer’s Food Markets, Central Market, Giant Eagle, Giant Foods, The Giant Co., Meijer, Reasor’s, Redner’s Markets, Stop & Shop, ShopRite, The Fresh Market, Tops Friendly Markets, Total Wine & More, Weis Markets and several other independent chains. The special packages are also available on Amazon.com, all military base commissaries in the nation through the Defense Commissary Agency and on Unique Snacks’ website throughout the year.

Since 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded more than 44,000 scholarships, 41% to minority recipients.

Founded as Unique Pretzel Bakery more than a century ago, Unique Snacks is a sixth-generation family-operated business that rebranded in 2020 to pursue growth in other healthy snack categories.

Paula Wolf is a freelance writer