Rangiora RSA and their Rookie Cookie

The classic Anzac Day poppy… We all know it and see it anywhere and almost everywhere around this time of year. It’s there to remind us of those who have fallen, and to raise money for the Poppy Day Appeal. 

This year the Rangiora RSA has decided to add a sweet boost to the tradition as they present a new modern twist. 

This modern twist is the addition of some flour, sugar, oats, and milk to create the RSA Rookie Cookie. It's a traditional style Anzac cookie made by New Zealand's very own Cookie Time.

The Rookie Cookie has been designed to help raise funds just like the poppy but in a more appealing way for the younger generation. For just a $2 donation you can break the diet and take home your very own snack and sticker.

Rangiora RSA club secretary Jane Sommerville wants to make clear that the cookies aren’t designed to take over from the poppies but instead are there to work with them.

 “We are not trying to compete with the traditional poppy, there is always a place for them.” 

In local businesses and RSA clubs around Canterbury, you will now see both the poppy and cookie being sold side by side.

So far 238 boxes of the Rookie Cookies have been made, with just over half of them having been sold already, the equivalent of 30,000 cookies”

Jane said that at the beginning she was a bit worried because the Rookie cookie isn’t the traditional type of Cookie time biscuit, as there is no chocolate anywhere in sight. However, the reception so far has been positive. 

“People are actually liking them more because there isn’t chocolate in them because they are just an Anzac cookie”.

The Rangiora RSA currently has a three-year contract with Cookie Time, with the hopes that as popularity grows this contract can be extended.

The Rookie Cookies are also hitting the skies as they are currently being offered as a snack option on Air New Zealand flights, from now until Anzac Day.

So this year when you're thinking about Anzac Day and donating towards the Poppy Day Appeal don’t limit yourself to a single poppy, as you do not want to miss the taste of the Rangiora RSA’s Rookie Cookie. 

As Club members say, once you start you just can’t stop!