WWGR: From hobby to purpose Community Loaves feeds neighbors in need

What started as a hobby for one Kirkland woman, quickly turned into a purpose. Now her commitment to baking has become a lifeline for thousands of families.

In 2020, home-baker Katherine Kehrli saw a need in her community, as more families were relying on food pantries during the pandemic.

“It was unique to try to figure out, could we do something tangible by providing some supplies. And what could we provide from our home?”, Kehrli asked. “Turned out to be that we could provide was freshly baked bread.”

She saw an opportunity to rise to the occasion, from her kitchen table. So, she went to work, reaching out to fellow bakers, and the local food bank.

“I drafted up a letter and said, this is what I think we should do,” recalls Kehrli. “What I have is a network of home-based bakers, I just checked with the Department of Health. It says that we can donate bread if you’ll take it. And we will package it up so that it has the ingredients on it.”

That foodbank ‘Kirkland’s Hopelink’ agreed to her proposal, telling Kehrli to ‘bring on the bread’.

And with that yes, ‘Community Loaves’ was formed.

Within weeks, Kehrli began training others to bake a honey oat sandwich loaf, to then be packaged, collected, and donated twice a month. Community Loaves provides training, packaging, and hubs for bakers to drop off their donations.

Word quickly spread.

“I was having a dinner party. And a friend was telling me that a friend of hers was baking for community loaves,” says Shannon, a volunteer. “I looked it up and thought ‘what could be cooler than that?’ so I started baking.”

Stories like Shannon’s, happening not just throughout Kirkland, but throughout the West Coast.

Bakers gathered in their home kitchens, eager to help. Turns out that service through baking is a recipe for success.

Now, four years on, the organization continues to expand. Community Loaves has delivered more than 150 thousand loaves to 44 food banks, across 4 states.

The organization has also expanded to start making ‘Energy Cookies’; easy-to-make snacks, that can be made in homes and then donated to food banks, too.

“I’ve got to go to the food bank and see what they do and it’s amazing to me to be a part of that,” says volunteer, Jim Szabo.

Their work is incredible, but also, bittersweet.

“Our food banks when we ask them how we’re doing, if they need anything, the answer is ‘more’. It’s the number one way that we can improve,” says Kehrli.

But just like with bread making- that, will take time.

Community Loaves is always looking for more bakers, even those who have never tried bread-making before. You can find ways to donate or volunteer here.