Food bank holds bread-baking classes to help stock shelves
New program aimed at expanding Greener Village's popular bread-baking program
Article content
A Fredericton food bank’s program allowing volunteers to bake homemade bread for clients has proven so popular that preparations are now being made to expand it.
Greener Village Fredericton is gearing up to launch “Share the Loaf” next week, offering the community a chance to learn baking skills while making loaves of bread for food bank clients.
Greener Village CEO Alex Boyd said the new evening program is meant to accommodate people who aren’t available to participate in the existing Bread Mondays program during the day. It’s scheduled to launch Jan. 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the food bank’s Riverside Drive facility.
“We’ve been doing (Bread Mondays) every Monday for the past year, but we’ve gotten a lot of feedback from people in the community saying they’d love to come, but Monday mornings don’t work for their schedules,” he said.
Under the current program, which was launched in 2023, Boyd said volunteers are taught by a chef to craft and bake homemade loaves of bread for clients’ food boxes. He said that program, and others at Greener Village that teach culinary skills, have seen “people engaging a lot,” while learning to cook and helping people in need.
Online registration links were posted this week and Boyd said several people have already signed up. He said the existing program usually includes a chef and 11 volunteers, but enough people attended this week to add an afternoon session.
Boyd said more than 5,000 loaves were made in 2023 through the Bread Monday program, and he expects that to be “significantly higher” this year.
“We originally set up Share the Loaf as a one-time event when we opened registration, but it looks like it could become a staple program that we do on a recurring basis,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity for people to build their bread-making skills and give back to the community by baking as much fresh bread for our clients as possible.”
Boyd said Share the Loaf’s future dates and times may vary based on participants’ preferences, but the first session is scheduled for a Tuesday evening. He said he appreciates seeing so much interest in Greener Village’s bread-making programs, as it leads to more loaves being baked for clients.
“It allows our clients to get a fresh, homemade loaf of bread that they may not receive otherwise,” he said. “Sometimes it’s still warm when we give it to them. They really appreciate it.
“There’s a heartwarming aspect to having something fresh and baked by someone locally compared to the sliced bread that comes in plastic bags.”
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.