Seen in San Francisco: Israeli Cereal in the Dollar Store

I'd buy that for 3.8 Israeli Shekels!

​Longtime San Francisco denizens have given up being surprised at what turns up in the city's dollar stores. And yet, one simply doesn't expect to see boxes of chocolate breakfast cereal from Israel retailing for one dollar American (just 3.78 Israeli Shekels -- a steal!).

When your humble narrator queried the staff of the "One $ Store" on Mission how they came to be in possession of a stash of cereal from the Holy Land, they went mute. Sorry, we were told, they couldn't reveal any trade secrets.

Yet a closer glance at the Hebrew-emblazoned box indicates this sugar-laden breakfast treat may not have traveled halfway around the world before moldering on a dollar store's shelves.

While the right-to-left writing on the box could throw you off, this cereal was actually manufactured in St. Louis by Ralcorp Holdings -- a massive food conglomerate that owns Post cereals and also produces a number of Brand X breakfast offerings. From there, it's imported to Herzliya, Israel by Monday, Ltd.

It is unclear whether this cereal came to San Francisco via St. Louis or really put on the frequent flier models. What we do know, according to the One $ Store's staff, is that the super-sweet cereal is a hit.

Perhaps that's because it was baked to meet the exacting standards of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Mission dollar shoppers deserve no less.