A snack selected by an Abbotsford boy will be among the items on the menu for Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield during his trip to the International Space Station starting in December.
Riley Weimer, 9, entered the Snacks in Space contest on the Canadian Space Agency website last summer, and found out this week that he was among the winners.
The contest invited participants to submit snack ideas for Hadfield’s six-month space mission. The criteria was that they had to be Canadian-made, simple to prepare and with a long shelf life.
Riley and his dad, Todd, searched through their kitchen cupboards and came up with the ideal suggestion – a product called Holy Crap cereal.
The cereal, produced in Sechelt, B.C., was featured on the CBC TV show Dragons’ Den in November 2010 and is now shipped to more than 20 countries and over 1,500 stores in Canada.
Todd said his family began consuming it because his daughter, Anaya, has wheat and dairy issues, and they are always looking for natural food products.
Riley’s entry was among 12 Canadian foods that won the Snacks in Space contest.
His prizes include space memorabilia form the Space Station and an autographed picture of the astronauts enjoying the winning snacks in space.
The Grade 4 student, who designs Lego spaceships and follows space missions, would love a career in the space industry.