How do I get started?

2. Who could use muffins, bread or other baked items? Are there people in your neighborhood who need a lift? A friend going through a hard time? That’s the place to start.

Other Suggestions: Contact nursing homes, assisted living, Meals-on-Wheels, shelters, hospitals and food pantries. Also, we can’t forget our heroes: the police, firefighters, veterans, and soldiers. A nice fresh loaf of bread made with them in mind can be a real morale boost. If you are shipping them to the soldiers, banana breads and fruit breads stay fresh the longer.

Contact: When you call the organization, tell them that you would like to donate homemade items and ask whom the best person is to talk to about this. Write down the contact person’s name and number so you have it handy in the future. Ask when a good time would be to drop off the bread.

How much do you think you will need to make? Think about how many items you think you and your helpers can produce so you can offer a realistic guess to the receiving organization.

If you just want to involve your troop or group in the baking and spreading, great!

Otherwise, you can ask other groups or friends to help or to promote your project. Make sure you let them know WHEN and WHERE you need the loaves.

ANY kind of bread is fine: quick bread, bread machine, yeast bread, bread from a mix, holiday bread, everyday bread… ANY KIND!

4. Bakers start your ovens…

Mix up a batch of your favorite recipe or use a boxed mix and start baking.

You can make mini muffins or larger baked items. Mini loaves often work well because single people can’t always eat a whole loaf. Mini pans can be found any place where kitchen stuff is sold or borrow some pansfor cooking.

5. Bake a difference

Ask your group to think of these baked goods as very special presents that are going to be given to people who rarely receive presents. When you wrap your loaves of bread add a special note, quote, bow, gift bag, colored plastic wrap, wrapping paper, small toys, doilies – anything that makes your loaves look special, and will make those who receive them feel special.

6. Collect and prepare [If you are involving your community in your project]

Choose a place to collect the baked items. Allow time to sort through the loaves to check their condition and appearance. You may have to discard a few that don’t look too appetizing.

Click on this link for a LABEL to place on the bottom of your bread. You can print the page.

7. Deliver your bread. Involve as many people that helped out to assist in the delivering.

8. Count your blessings!

Keep track of how many loaves you received and the places to which you donated them. Make sure to send a public letter to the newspaper thanking bakers for their work and telling them how many loaves were collected. Sometimes the recipients also want to write letters of thanks and these can go to the newspaper as well, if you like. This serves to get more people interested for the next time. The Spread the Bread group would like you would tell them how your project went. Keeping track of all the bread-spreading is a big job, but it would be great to be able to say one day that hundreds of communities spread millions of loaves of cheer!