A Canadian woman who owns a candy company made too many chocolate bars. She had a lot of them with an expiry date of June. The woman named Crystal Regehr Westergard owns Canadian Candy Nostalgia, which specializes in reviving discontinued treats. She started her company to bring back retro candy that was popular in the past. She revived a chocolate bar called Rum & Butter, which became an instant hit. She sold more than a million bars and wanted to make more. However, they produced too many chocolate bars, and all had the same expiry date. She had 133,000 bars that stores did not want to buy. Grocery stores refused to buy them because the best-before date was fast approaching.
Crystal needed to give the chocolate bars away for free, so she asked the internet for help. Many people around the world asked if they could get a box for themselves. She wanted to give the boxes in bulk to nearby organizations that were able to pick them up. Thanks to the attention she got, her chocolate bars found homes in places in need. A local Ukrainian church, a drop-in center in Calgary for unhoused people, and a fire department in neighboring Saskatchewan received chocolate bars. Food banks reached out to take some chocolate off of her hands despite the no-candy policy, and a local charity is using the bars to raise money to send underprivileged children to camp. All the candy is now accounted for, and Crystal is relieved with this sweet ending.
Original news source: How one Canadian woman got rid of 133,000 chocolate bars (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– CANDY BRAINSTORM
Instructions: Ask the students to brainstorm different types of candy they know. Write them on the board. Then, ask them if they know any Canadian candy. If they don’t, tell them about Crystal’s company that specializes in reviving discontinued treats. Ask them if they think this is a good idea or not.
– CHOCOLATE BAR TIMELINE
Instructions: Draw a timeline on the board, with the years 1950-2020. Ask the students to come up with popular chocolate bars that they know of, research them online briefly, and write them on the board in the year they were introduced. Then, tell them about the chocolate bar called Rum & Butter that Crystal revived. Ask them if they would try it if they had the chance.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Who made too many chocolate bars?
2. What is the name of the candy company owner?
3. What does the candy company specialize in?
4. What did the owner do to bring back retro candy?
5. How many bars did the owner have that stores did not want to buy?
6. Why did grocery stores refuse to buy the bars?
7. Who did the candy company owner give the bars to?
8. What did a local charity do with the bars?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
A Canadian woman who owns a candy company made too many (1)________ bars. She had a lot of them with an expiry date of (2)________. The woman named Crystal Regehr Westergard owns Canadian Candy Nostalgia, which specializes in reviving discontinued (3)________. She started her company to bring back retro candy that was popular in the past. She revived a chocolate bar called Rum & Butter, which became an instant hit. She sold more than a million bars and wanted to make more. However, they produced too many (4)________ bars, and all had the same expiry date. She had 133,000 bars that stores did not want to buy. Grocery stores refused to buy them because the best-before date was fast approaching.
Crystal needed to give the (5)________ bars away for free, so she asked the internet for help. Many people around the world asked if they could get a box for themselves. She wanted to give the boxes in (6)________ to nearby organizations that were able to pick them up. Thanks to the attention she got, her chocolate bars found homes in places in need. A local Ukrainian church, a (7)________ center in Calgary for unhoused people, and a fire department in neighboring Saskatchewan received chocolate bars. Food banks reached out to take some chocolate off of her hands despite the no-candy policy, and a local charity is using the bars to raise money to send (8)________ children to camp. All the candy is now accounted for, and Crystal is relieved with this sweet ending.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. Do you like chocolate bars?
2. Have you ever tried a Rum & Butter chocolate bar?
3. Do you know what an expiry date is?
4. What would you do if you had too many chocolate bars?
5. Have you ever given something away for free?
6. Do you think it’s good to give things away for free? Why or why not?
7. Have you ever asked strangers on the internet for help?
8. Do you know what a grocery store is?
9. Have you ever been to a food bank?
10. Do you think it’s important to help people in need? Why or why not?
11. Do you know what a charity is?
12. Have you ever raised money for a good cause?
13. What do you think the people who received the chocolate bars felt like?
14. Have you ever been to a camp?
15. What do you think Crystal felt like when all the candy was accounted for?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. candy
2. expiry date
3. retro
4. chocolate bars
5. giveaway
6. attention
7. unhoused people
8. food bank
Meanings:
A) A place where people can get free food when they don’t have enough money
B) Food that is sweet and often comes in colorful packages
C) Old-fashioned or vintage
D) People who don’t have a home to live in
E) The last day that food can be eaten before it goes bad
F) A situation where something is given to someone for free
G) When people notice or pay attention to something
H) Bars of sweet, brown food that can be eaten as a snack.
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What did Crystal Regehr Westergard’s company specialize in?
(a) making toys
(b) selling clothes
(c) reviving discontinued treats
(d) making furniture
2. What was the name of the chocolate bar that became an instant hit?
(a) Rum & Butter
(b) Vanilla & Caramel
(c) Peanut & Chocolate
(d) Mint & Berry
3. Why did grocery stores refuse to buy the chocolate bars?
(a) They were too expensive
(b) They were too heavy
(c) They were too sweet
(d) The best-before date was fast approaching
4. What did Crystal need to do with the chocolate bars?
(a) Sell them at a discount
(b) Throw them away
(c) Give them away for free
(d) Eat them all herself
5. Who did Crystal want to give the boxes of chocolate bars to?
(a) Her friends and family
(b) Nearby organizations that were able to pick them up
(c) Grocery stores
(d) Other candy companies
6. Where did the chocolate bars find homes?
(a) In the garbage
(b) In stores
(c) In places in need
(d) In Crystal’s house
7. Who received some of the chocolate bars?
(a) A local Ukrainian church
(b) A local shoe store
(c) A local bookstore
(d) A local coffee shop
8. What is the sweet ending to the story?
(a) All the candy is now accounted for
(b) Crystal ate all the chocolate bars
(c) The chocolate bars were all thrown away
(d) Nobody wanted the chocolate bars
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. A woman in the USA made too many chocolate bars.
2. Crystal Regehr Westergard started a company that revives old candy.
3. She revived a discontinued chocolate bar called Rum & Butter.
4. The Rum & Butter chocolate bar was not popular.
5. Grocery stores refused to buy the chocolate bars because of the expiry date.
6. Crystal sold the chocolate bars.
7. People around the world asked for a box of the chocolate bars.
8. All of the chocolate bars were thrown away because no one wanted them.
Go to answers ⇩
Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Writing Questions:
Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
1. What happened to the Canadian candy company?
2. Why didn’t grocery stores want to buy the chocolate bars?
3. What did the candy company owner do when she had too many chocolate bars?
4. Who received the chocolate bars that the candy company owner gave away?
5. How did the candy company owner feel when all the chocolate bars found homes?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. Who made too many chocolate bars?
– A Canadian woman made too many chocolate bars.
2. What is the name of the candy company owner?
– Her name is Crystal Regehr Westergard.
3. What does the candy company specialize in?
– The candy company specializes in reviving discontinued treats.
4. What did the owner do to bring back retro candy?
– The owner brought back a chocolate bar called Rum & Butter.
5. How many bars did the owner have that stores did not want to buy?
– The owner had 133,000 bars that stores did not want to buy.
6. Why did grocery stores refuse to buy the bars?
– Grocery stores refused to buy the bars because the best-before date was fast approaching.
7. Who did the candy company owner give the bars to?
– The candy company owner gave the bars to nearby organizations that were able to pick them up.
8. What did a local charity do with the bars?
– A local charity used the bars to raise money to send underprivileged children to camp.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. chocolate
2. June
3. treats
4. chocolate
5. candy
6. bulk
7. drop-in
8. underprivileged
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. candy
Answer: B) Food that is sweet and often comes in colorful packages
2. expiry date
Answer: E) The last day that food can be eaten before it goes bad
3. retro
Answer: C) Old-fashioned or vintage
4. chocolate bars
Answer: H) Bars of sweet, brown food that can be eaten as a snack.
5. giveaway
Answer: F) A situation where something is given to someone for free
6. attention
Answer: G) When people notice or pay attention to something
7. unhoused people
Answer: D) People who don’t have a home to live in
8. food bank
Answer: A) A place where people can get free food when they don’t have enough money
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What did Crystal Regehr Westergard’s company specialize in?
Answer: (c) reviving discontinued treats
2. What was the name of the chocolate bar that became an instant hit?
Answer: (a) Rum & Butter
3. Why did grocery stores refuse to buy the chocolate bars?
Answer: (d) The best-before date was fast approaching
4. What did Crystal need to do with the chocolate bars?
Answer: (c) Give them away for free
5. Who did Crystal want to give the boxes of chocolate bars to?
Answer: (b) Nearby organizations that were able to pick them up
6. Where did the chocolate bars find homes?
Answer: (c) In places in need
7. Who received some of the chocolate bars?
Answer: (a) A local Ukrainian church
8. What is the sweet ending to the story?
Answer: (a) All the candy is now accounted for
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. A woman in the USA made too many chocolate bars.
Answer: False
2. Crystal Regehr Westergard started a company that revives old candy.
Answer: True
3. She revived a discontinued chocolate bar called Rum & Butter.
Answer: True
4. The Rum & Butter chocolate bar was not popular.
Answer: False
5. Grocery stores refused to buy the chocolate bars because of the expiry date.
Answer: True
6. Crystal sold the chocolate bars.
Answer: False
7. People around the world asked for a box of the chocolate bars.
Answer: True
8. All of the chocolate bars were thrown away because no one wanted them.
Answer: False
Go back to questions ⇧
