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GreaterUpperValley.com

King Arthur Flour’s “Bake For Good” Classes Help Fight Hunger

Jan 04, 2016 02:40PM ● By Kirsten Gehlbach
On December 9th and 21st, the team at King Arthur Flour Camelot campus in Norwich held free baking classes and provided ingredients and instructions to sold-out classes of enthusiastic bakers in order to “Bake For Good.” All the baked goodies, including rolls, Christmas cookies, pies, and cinnamon rolls, were donated to the Upper Valley Haven.

“I have been wanting to do this for so many years,” said Susan Miller, director of the King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center and organizer of Bake For Good. “The public was so positive; the classes sold out. The response was amazing.”

The community bakers gained skills, learned new recipes, and helped make someone’s holiday happier. In an added bonus, any good-will monetary donations to the Haven were matched by King Arthur Flour, and then matched again by the Byrne Foundation through the 19 Days of Norwich, 1% for the Haven program.

At the start of each class, a representative from the Haven spoke about the Haven’s role in addressing food needs in the Upper Valley. The Haven’s Food Shelf Program supplies a week’s worth of groceries to about 1,240 households each month. For more information about the Haven’s Food Shelf, go to http://uppervalleyhaven.org/programs/the-food-shelf/.

Thanksgiving was also a time to give back for King Arthur Flour. During the two days before Thanksgiving, the company devoted a full day to Bake For Good at its Baking Education Center. Eight free classes were offered to members of the community, where more than 100 students increased their skills and learned new ones while helping to make Thanksgiving more joyous for others. At the end of the Bake For Good day, over 800 rolls and more than 50 pumpkin pies were delivered to the Haven for distribution to families in time for Thanksgiving.

The tally for the Christmas holiday Bake For Good program during the four classes on December 9th yielded a total of 1,456 ginger cookies. On December 21st, the community baked 56 pies and 73 pans of cinnamon rolls, for a grand total of 657 cinnamon rolls— all delivered to the Haven. “We are pleased to contribute,” said Susan. “The need is great all year long, not just at the holidays.”

If you didn't get a chance to participate this year make sure you mark your calendar for next.

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