RAGBRAI 2012: Marketing lesson in Aurelia

Spelling might not be the strong suit at Alta-Aurelia High School, whose students were selling $5 sack lunches in Aurelia to raise money for next year’s prom.

“Fud 4 U!” read one sign. “In ur sak . . . samich, nanner, nut lovers bar, wet stuf.”

But at least they learned a lesson in marketing, which, like real estate, is all about location. The students had spent three hours assembling 650 lunches the previous night but barely sold 100 to the RAGBRAI crowds. They were assigned to the city park, just a block away from the main bike route, where riders gobbled up French toast and thousands of Farm Boy breakfast burritos.

Major bummer, right? Maybe for the prom, but definitely not for the Storm Lake charity that will feed the unsold lunches tonight to the needy. (Let’s hope they like peanut butter “samiches.”)

Two of the group’s sponsors, English teacher Jen Keitges and Spanish teacher Lindsay Brown, suggested the students keep the extra bottles of water and sell them during the school year as “special edition” RAGBRAI water – for double the price.

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