In early October, a group of us took a day away from the office and headed to downtown La Jolla, reusable bags filled with Kashi goodies in tow. We were out to spread our love of natural foods quite literally—by passing out afternoon snacks to some unsuspecting people.

We were a sight to see. We had dipped into the Kashi “wardrobe closet” and pulled together various t-shirts and remnant costume elements (capes, knee-high socks, goofy headbands, etc.) from a recent trip to San Francisco, where we participated in the Bay to Breakers race. Definitely a motley crew.

While I opted to walk, others on the team hopped on mountain bikes, beach cruisers, and skateboards so we could cover more ground. From there we split into teams and headed out to cover various areas of the village. We were on a mission—spreading the Kashi love throughout our hometown.

As we began to pass out granola bars, cereal bars, GOLEAN bars and crackers, we were met with lots of smiles and thank-yous, but what was most surprising to me was how many people pulled out their wallets and asked us how much our snacks cost. I guess it’s true that you can’t get too much for free these days, but seeing their gracious reactions when we told them they’re free—that we’re giving away snacks to celebrate our 25th anniversary—it made me realize how good it feels to surprise someone and just give (and it doesn’t feel too bad to be giving someone something that’s good for them too). It’s easy, it doesn’t cost too much, and it really goes far to make someone’s day.

Can you think of other ways to surprise a co-worker, friend, or even someone you run into on the street with something that’s good for them?