People come together over bread. This unity is what makes "breaking bread" so meaningful, what makes sharing bread so thoughtful.
A group of Girl Scouts in Stewart and Brownton, Minn., recently discovered this truth through a program called Spread the Bread, a grass-roots bread-giving initiative that began in Massachusetts and has become a worldwide effort, encouraging people from all walks of life to bake bread for others.
While on a camp retreat, Gerri Fitzloff's troop decided to earn a patch from Spread the Bread and so began baking, using some of Fitzloff's Amish Friendship Starter. "Baking at the camp was great because we were in no big rush, had all this room and these big ovens," Fitzloff said. They ended up making 50 loaves, which they distributed to senior dining facilities in Stewart and Brownton.
"They were tickled to get home-baked bread," Fitzloff said.
Spread the Bread aims to link children's innate generosity to developing a lifelong commitment to helping others. Founder Karen Kelly Kiefer got the idea from her Irish grandmother, who always baked enough bread to share. "There's a role in Spread the Bread for anyone who wants to be a part of it -- whether it's organizing, baking, delivering, etc.," she said. "We just encourage you to invite kids and families to be involved in whatever way they can."
Spread the Bread's website offers a free "How to Spread the Bread Starter Kit" for downloading, as well as other ideas for nurturing a spirit of volunteerism and learning the life skill of baking bread. To find out more, go to www.spreadthebread.org.
