


Trish Byers
Jul 23, 2024
United States
Categories:
Food Insecurity, Cooking, Volunteer
The Great British Baking Show from the British Broadcasting Corporation and other baking shows on television has brought about a renewed interest in baking. Many folks who had never worked with dough and baking bread wanted to learn how to make a perfect buttercream and a tasty loaf of bread. When the pandemic kept people at home all day, many started baking, particularly bread. Perhaps they did it to reduce stress, create something they had never made, or just had no reason to put it off any longer. This story is about those who baked to help others in need.
Seattle Culinary Institute Associate Dean Katherine Kehrli noted that many people existed by working two or three jobs at minimum wage. So many of them now were out of work and facing hardship. Kehrli decided to use her trending private hobby to address a broader need. She founded "Community Loaves," an organization that donates freshly baked bread to food banks for distribution.
Several years before "Community Loaves," Kehrli started a "Northwest Bread Bakers" group dedicated to bread making. When Kehrli noticed how the pandemic was causing people to be food insecure, she decided to get baking. Kehrli then created another group called "Community Loaves." Kehrli discovered that the Washington State Health Department permits bread baking and distribution without a commercial kitchen. Kehrli then forged relationships with a food bank that would distribute the bread. Kehrli and her "Community Loaves" friends went to work. They developed an easy sourdough bread recipe that volunteers could make and package for distribution at the food bank.
Their first donation was 19 baked loaves of bread to a food bank in Kirkland, Washington. And that was the humble beginning. By December 2021, "Community Loaves" had 28 food bank partners, 58 hubs in three states, and 861 volunteers. They had donated 54,739 loaves of bread, enough to make 395,486 sandwiches.
"Community Loaves" addresses food insecurity and is impactful in other ways. It expanded the market for locally grown, locally milled grain and continues to educate people that not all flour is the same. The volunteers benefit from giving to others and connecting with other volunteers, all from the safety of their homes during the pandemic. Of course, they also benefit from the fragrance of freshly baked bread wafting through their homes.
Community Loaves is the epitome of a grassroots organization. Many of us have donated baked goods to a bake sale for a charity or worked at soup kitchens or food banks. This project began humbly in April 2020 with an aspirational and understated donation of 19 loaves created by a handful of pioneer bakers. With each successive gift, they attracted more bakers and made more bread.
Many of us have personal hobbies that can address real needs in our communities. You know who you are: the gardeners, bakers, knitters, woodworkers, musicians, potters, painters, photographers, homebrewers, quilters, pool players, scrapbookers, ham radio operators, stamp collectors, singers, sailors, model makers, sports players, and so many others. Each of you can make a difference in someone else's life. Anything you do as a hobby can transform into an activity to address unmet community needs. All it takes is a little creativity and your willingness to share. Making the world a better place and ourselves in the process begins where you are, our hometown. Ready to rise to the challenge? You will not regret it.
Originally published January 23, 2022
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Catalog #:
1221.110.01.012122