Kellogg Donates Two Tons of Michael Phelps Cereal Boxes

Thousands of boxes were donated to the San Francisco Food Bank in California, who distribute food to soup kitchens, senior centers, homeless shelters and youth programs.

Rumored to have had over $100 million in endorsement deals, Phelps, the most-medaled Olympian of all time had his pick of jobs, but drew criticism from some health experts for agreeing to appear on a sugary products in the first place. Many cried foul, since Olympians are associated with Wheaties, but he'd already landed that iconic faceplate, and on his second cereal appearance, said he instead opted for cereals he personally consumed.

Seemed like a rather silly attempt at creating “controversy,” since at the end of the day, it’s still just a matter of milled corn pounded into edible chips. They could not have known that mere months later, a genuine press storm would cease the arguments about which cereal to endorse – and raise the question of whether Michael Phelps was worthy of being a role model or spokesman at all.

In perhaps the most famous “bong hit” ever, the UK’s News of the World released a photograph of Michael Phelps smoking marijuana at a party near the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He was subsequently suspended for three months by USA Swimming, and for a time was also in danger of facing criminal charges.

Subway, Omega, and Visa believed Phelps was no different than other people of his generation who experiment or make youthful mistakes, and kept him on as a spokesperson. The food giant, however, issued the stern statement “Michael's recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg.” They then declined to renew his contract.

Still, Kellogg may have under-estimated the appeal of the surplus as collector’s items, and seem to have lost out, due to what many viewed as a preachy, even sanctimonious stance.

The SF Food Bank, who doesn’t often see donations of that type or magnitude, was overjoyed at the sudden gift, saying their consumers didn’t much care about cannabis controversy. In times of recession, contributions often take a downturn. Food is food, and cereal packages can be difficult to acquire in bulk while still in their printed shelf-life.

Two tons of boxes disappeared in less than two weeks, but not all are being eaten. An employee of the food bank confirmed they kept a few as “souvenirs,” and others are showing up on e-Bay, priced as low as $3.00 but eventually being sold for about $20, some with as many as 14 bids in their final hours.