Better Bread Is Here To Stay
Announcing January donations & our February partner
🌅 Good morning bread friends!
Thanks for the kind notes of encouragement this past week. Celebrating our community raising and donating over $20,000 last year was made even more special as I saw the enthusiasm that you all had to be a part of such an impact. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish in 2022 together. Maybe next year we can celebrate another year of success with some sort of pizza party. What do you think?
Anyway, another reason why it was a particularly fun week in the bread baking community was because of the publishing of an article titled The Best Bread in Every State (Food & Wine Magazine). As further evidence that the sourdough bread community on Instagram is the most wholesome corner of the internet, my feed was filled with bakers cheering each other on for the recognition of their hard work. It seems like the common experience for bakeries was that they had no idea that they were going to be on this list. I’m sure it was a bit of a wild ride for many of them.
Here in Madison, my friend Kirk and his amazing sourdough bread at @originbreads got the nod. As soon as I saw the news, I ran upstairs to excitedly tell my wife that Kirk’s bakery had gotten named the best bread in the state! Melissa has never met Kirk, but we’ve enjoyed his bread for years. In our house, Kirk has become known as the guy whose bakery I go to when I’m picking up a delivery of our local Meadowlark Organics flour… and then I always come back with new ideas for something that I could try with my bread. In our bi-weekly interactions, Kirk has consistently been generous with his time and knowledge. He’s always made me feel like a real colleague in this bread game. His success is a real inspiration to me because I’ve followed his bakery’s progress for years. It reminds me that anything is possible when I reflect on the fact that just 5 years ago he was making bread out of his house just like me.
I thought it was especially cool that Wine & Food started off their paragraph on Wisconsin by acknowledging the role of the Artisan Grain Collaborative. AGC is a network of farmers and millers and bakers (as well as chefs, food manufacturers, brewers, distillers, and other food professionals and advocates) that are all working together to promote regenerative & sustainable agriculture and a just food economy in the Midwest. As a proud member of the AGC, I was excited that so many other midwest bakeries that are AGC members were also recognized by Food & Wine for having some of the best bread in their states:
Illinois— @hewnbread + @lostlarson
Michigan — @birddogbaking + @zingermansbakehouse
Minnesota — @bakersfieldflourandbread + @brakebread
Wisconsin — @originbreads + @stephensbreads
I know that I sell out of bread quickly each week. I am working on a plan to expand my capacity later this year… but if I’m ever sold out, you really should consider checking out Origin’s bread :)
Donating January’s Profits
Coming into 2022, Bread & Justice was proud to partner with the Brennan Center for Justice by donating 100% of January’s profits to them. As we discussed, The Brennan Center works to reform and defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice. After all of the bread that you purchased, and all of the generous donations that were made directly to Bread & Justice on our website, we are proud to donate a total of $406 this month to this important organization that has a long history of working to make elections fair, end mass incarceration, and preserve our liberties. Thank you for your support of this work. Heading into an election year where our democracy is under attack from both foreign and domestic actors, their work is incredibly important.
Announcing February’s Partner Org
As you know, each month we choose a different organization that is working towards a more just society and we donate 100% of our profits to them. For the month of February, I’m excited to announce that Bread & Justice will be donating to The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. For every loaf of sourdough that you buy this month, it’ll support this excellent 10-year-old nonprofit that is changing the health trajectories of black girls and women in Dane county. They describe themselves as:
A Wisconsin-based non-profit organization committed to mobilizing African American women to pursue and sustain mind-body-spirit wellness, and to raise the visibility and support of Black women’s health as a community and public health priority.
Our mission at The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness is to empower a generation of Well Black Women. We do this through year-round education programming, advocacy, and powerful partnerships.
We are committed to supporting women across the life span to build and sustain well-being in their lives while working to eliminate health disparities that disproportionately impact Black women and their families.
I’m glad to be supporting them this month, and I look forward to sharing more of their work with you.
Cheers,
Mo Cheeks
bread baker
P.S. If you’re looking to pre-order bread for pick up this Thursday, now is a great time to do that on the website.
P.P.S. In a country whose foundations were both literally and figuratively built by black people, it always feels slightly awkward that we have a designated month where society seeks to remind itself to include our ancestor’s stories in the telling of American history. It seems like learning the contributions, experiences, and extraordinary triumphs of black people would just be called learning American history. Nevertheless, I’m glad that so many people do take this opportunity to increase their knowledge. If you are in the Madison area and looking for some Black History Month activities, the Madison Public Library typically has some good resources & events listed on their website.
