The Hope Loaves
Donation protected
Well, this has been a tough one. We have made the very difficult decision to mostly close Green Blade Bakery, for the time being.
COVID-wise, the numbers and the trends are just getting too ugly, and we do not want to endanger either our customers or our employees.
But while we won't be open for business, we will not be shutting the bakery down. A couple weeks ago, when the order came to close all dining rooms and bars in the state of Oregon, we started making bread for laid-off foodservice and hospitality workers. We felt it was something we just had to do, and we let people know that we were making these available for one dollar.
Within minutes after we made the announcement about the bread, a woman from out of state called up and wanted to pay for all the loaves, so they would be free to the people in need. By the end of the day, several more people had contacted us to pay for more loaves, so that we could keep on baking them as long as people needed them. We were so moved by this spirit of common generosity and compassion, we came up with a name for this bread right there on the spot: Hope Loaves.
A couple things have changed since then. First, a whole lot more than just food service and hospitality people are out of work now. Second, we have been forced to close. So there's a lot more people with no money for food, and we have an idle kitchen and several idle bakers. So we have decided to meet both those challenges by dedicating our bakery to making as many "Hope Loaves" as we can, so people can still get bread to eat even if they are not working..
We have worked out an arrangement with the Klamath-Lake County Food Bank, which will facilitate distribution of these loaves through their network of pantry sites. They said they have been pretty much overwhelmed with the increased need in recent weeks, and they are just as excited as we are about having this opportunity to be of greater help during this difficult time.
When Sandy and I were first faced with the possibility that we would have to close, we talked about it for three days straight, sometimes at rather high volume. We went into the shop today to see what would need to be done if it happened. We stood there next to each other, looking at the big corkboard where all the yellow order slips are hung, with the names of all these people we've known and loved for so long. We made a final decision, looked at each other, and both of us just couldn't help but cry.
We very much appreciate any help you can give us with this. And we hope that all this hardship does not go on too much longer.
We live and breath making food for the people. It's all we want to ever do. And we are going to keep doing it, no matter what.
"We light the oven so that everyone may bake bread in it. If we survive, we will spend our whole lives at the oven door seeing that no one is denied . . . " -- Jose Marti, 1882
COVID-wise, the numbers and the trends are just getting too ugly, and we do not want to endanger either our customers or our employees.
But while we won't be open for business, we will not be shutting the bakery down. A couple weeks ago, when the order came to close all dining rooms and bars in the state of Oregon, we started making bread for laid-off foodservice and hospitality workers. We felt it was something we just had to do, and we let people know that we were making these available for one dollar.
Within minutes after we made the announcement about the bread, a woman from out of state called up and wanted to pay for all the loaves, so they would be free to the people in need. By the end of the day, several more people had contacted us to pay for more loaves, so that we could keep on baking them as long as people needed them. We were so moved by this spirit of common generosity and compassion, we came up with a name for this bread right there on the spot: Hope Loaves.
A couple things have changed since then. First, a whole lot more than just food service and hospitality people are out of work now. Second, we have been forced to close. So there's a lot more people with no money for food, and we have an idle kitchen and several idle bakers. So we have decided to meet both those challenges by dedicating our bakery to making as many "Hope Loaves" as we can, so people can still get bread to eat even if they are not working..
We have worked out an arrangement with the Klamath-Lake County Food Bank, which will facilitate distribution of these loaves through their network of pantry sites. They said they have been pretty much overwhelmed with the increased need in recent weeks, and they are just as excited as we are about having this opportunity to be of greater help during this difficult time.
When Sandy and I were first faced with the possibility that we would have to close, we talked about it for three days straight, sometimes at rather high volume. We went into the shop today to see what would need to be done if it happened. We stood there next to each other, looking at the big corkboard where all the yellow order slips are hung, with the names of all these people we've known and loved for so long. We made a final decision, looked at each other, and both of us just couldn't help but cry.
We very much appreciate any help you can give us with this. And we hope that all this hardship does not go on too much longer.
We live and breath making food for the people. It's all we want to ever do. And we are going to keep doing it, no matter what.
"We light the oven so that everyone may bake bread in it. If we survive, we will spend our whole lives at the oven door seeing that no one is denied . . . " -- Jose Marti, 1882
Organizer
Mike Connelly
Organizer
Klamath Falls, OR
