The Problem
When families are having a hard time putting food on the table, treats from the grocery store are a luxury item. Our bakery item distribution changes that for many!
Our Plan
Our family distributes food which would otherwise be disposed of to the local community. We have connected with about fifty families so far, numbering over 100 people (if not more). We want to make our donated bakery item distribution more official. We will call it the Little Free Bakery or Spread The Bread and create a Facebook group for it. This will help us better communicate with our community members and make it more personal. Over the course of the pandemic, we witnessed (and experienced) firsthand what food-shortage looks like and feels like. We were very happy to help alleviate some everyday stress over food. Our own family and the people we spoke with expressed such joy over something as simple as a cake. When families are having a hard time putting food on the table, treats from the grocery store are a luxury item. Our bakery item distribution changes that for many! We are able to give children birthday cakes, moms croissants for Mother’s day and families bread rolls to go with their dinner. We needed to take a break from distributing due to logistic difficulties, but we have received so many inquiries asking for us to start again that we want to try again. We will create this as a Roots and Shoots project and have more direction this time around.
Themes Addressed
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Community
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Compassion
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Food Insecurity
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Reasons for Hope
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The Benefit
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People
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Environment
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Here is how the project went:
Our a Little Free Bakery is up and running! We are very happy to be distributing again and we have branched out to additional food items and sources too! Our Facebook group has been a success and we have 200 members able to pick up food from our house twice a week.
Through this project I/we learned:
We learned people have a sense of “I shouldn’t take this from someone who really needs it.” However, we know times are tough for many people and having a little added sweetness in life can make a big difference. We try to welcome everyone to our group and let people know we have plenty to share!
What I/we might change:
We will continue distributing twice a week. We are hoping to connect with a natural foods grocery store to be able to distribute produce alongside the bakery items. This is our next challenge!
My/our favorite part of this project was:
I love the community we have built and the friends we have made. I love going to work or going out to a community event and running into people we know. They always say “oh you’re the bakery lady!” It’s been a wonderful way to meet people in our new town!
Some tips, tricks or fun facts about the project:
Many grocery stores and bakeries give their end of day products to nonprofits to distribute. If you are interested in starting your own or taking part, contact your local shop to ask what their process is and what you need to participate.
