Give Thanks

Finally able to share the news of my Thanksgiving bake

I want to share with you one of the coolest things that has happened to me since I started on this bread adventure.

I love hearing stories from customers of how they have enjoyed my bread and shared it with others. Recently one of those stories turned into a bit of a challenge. A wonderful customer brought to me an exciting opportunity to stretch my comfort zone and combine the work of bread & justice together very directly. I’m so thankful to get to take them up on this opportunity, and glad to finally share with you what this entails.  

With the support of a couple of generous customers, this Thanksgiving I’m making enough sourdough loaves to give away to all of the children and families that are served by The Road Home – a nonprofit who’s mission is to end family homelessness here in Madison.

From their website:

Since we believe the solution to homelessness is housing… The Road Home provides permanent supportive housing in an effort to end chronic homelessness for families facing significant barriers to safe housing. 

Our housing programs combine supported, affordable housing with case management services in order to best help these families be successful. These programs recognize and address the long-term challenges faced by families dealing with disabilities. Families can stay in these programs as long as they need help and have a child under age 18 living in their household.

Homelessness is an absolute tragedy in this wealthy nation. It is my pleasure to get to donate enough bread to The Road Home that all of the families that they are serving will have a fresh loaf for Thanksgiving. This is a small way that my bread can directly combat the injustice of hunger and homelessness in my city.

This bake also presents a great opportunity for me to stretch my baking production capacity yet again. 

I’ve been keeping track of how much bread I’ve made since I began baking at the start of this year. So far I’ve made a little over 200 loaves, and the most I’ve made in a week has been 28 loaves. For this Thanksgiving I’ll be making 50 loaves in 3 days. So this will be my biggest batch by a long shot. As you can see, I’ve gotten some new equipment to make this larger bake possible. In preparation for this week I’ve been practicing my formula and my proofing process. I’m eager to take on this challenge, and looking forward to sharing with you what I learn through it all. 

Reply to let me know if you have any questions about this bake or about homelessness in Madison. If you want to learn more about The Road Home - please check out their website. 

As always, you can share this email with anyone who you know that might be passionate about both bread & justice. It is such a joy to see this community growing so much.  

Mo Cheeks
@BakingMo - Instagram & Venmo

P.S. Since you made it this far, I’d love to hear from you what you’re cooking or baking for Thanksgiving. My wife and I usually host Thanksgiving at our house… but we’re keeping to ourselves during this pandemic, and we’re just taking the opportunity to be thankful for the health of our immediate and extended families.