If you’re reading the Jew And The Carrot, it’s highly likely that you’re interested in food and sustainability. So, when you’re making your mishloach manot you’re probably thinking about the health and quality of the food you’re giving your friends and making efforts to minimize waste as well. You may even be making hamantashen from scratch with homemade local jam canned from last spring’s berry harvest. (Kol HaKavod to Lisa Fine-decidedly impressive!)

But while we can make conscious choices about what we give, what we receive is a whole other megillah. I’m beyond being shocked by the amount of sheer junk we get on Purim. And yet each year, it seems to get more outrageous. I mean, some of the things barely qualify as food. Sugar, chemicals, colorings and more sugar. All wrapped up in colorful plastic. The kids know when the baskets arrive, I’m like a bouncer at a chi-chi nightclub-highly selective. What ever is edible goes into the cabinet to be doled out for later consumption; the other stuff goes into a bag which I….Well, here’s where I get tripped up. I certainly don’t want to eat it, and I don’t want my family to eat it either. And I don’t want to give it away, because I wouldn’t give that kind of food to anyone I care about. I don’t like to throw it away, because it’s essentially throwing someone’s hard earned money in the trash (though, truth be told, that’s usually what I end up doing).

So, I’m asking you: What’s your solution to this mishloach manot dilemma? Looking forward hearing your fresh ideas.