by Steve Timmer

Jun 23, 2012, 1:30 PM

Thanks, General Mills!

Next Thursday evening at Drinking Liberally — that’s June 28th — from six to nine in the evening, we’ll be collecting General Mills food products for donation to show our support for General Mills’ statement opposing the gay marriage ban constitutional amendment slated to be on the ballot for voters in November. It’s part of the Thanks, General Mills! campaign.

Minnesota For [Some] Marriage is really steamed at General Mills for speaking out in opposition to the proposed amendment. It is mounting a boycott; this collection is our response.

Andy Parrish, a former Michele Bachmann staffer and current Minnesota For [Some] Marriage spokester, announced a street protest, saying his group had been “miscalculated”:

“Starting Tuesday June 26th through Friday June 29th we will be holding ‘Dump General Mills rallies’ across from their headquarters from noon to 2:00 pm each day,” the email [announcing the boycott] continued. “Join us. Bring your friends. We’re asking you to bring your General Mills products from home and dump it in our trailer – we will be donating the food to local food shelves. Let’s send a message to all companies in Minnesota – we won’t tolerate this. We will fight back.”

Just a word of advice for the Minnesota For [Some] Marriage protesters: you’ll have to bring new, unopened, and not-outdated products if they’re going to be donated to a food shelf; you can’t just dump a half a box of Cheerios in the trailer. That probably means you’re going to go to the store and pick up some General Mills products, big boxes if you want to make a splash.

Andy’s little action here is going to do two things: 1) increase the sales of General Mills products, and 2) make contributions to local food shelves.

This is genius.

I mean what’s not to like, really? So, we decided to do it, too! Only we’re doing it to thank General Mills, and to show other local companies that we’ll support them for joining us, too. (If you’re shopping for a heart valve, for example, please get one from St. Jude Medical, another company that has made a statement in opposition to the amendment.)

Please bring some Cheerios, Wheaties, Betty Crocker cake mixes, Gold Medal flour or other non-perishable General Mills food item to Drinking Liberally on June 28th. (We’ll accept other food items, too, but the object here is firstly a response to Minnesota For Marriage.)

The 331 Club is located at the corner of 13th and University Avenues N.E. in Minneapolis, that 331 13th Avenue N.E. If you don’t want to stay for the fun at Drinking Liberally, there will be curb-side drop off for your donations.