Young bakers share recipes for community change
Raija Medeiros says Green Garden Bakery taught them many lessons in business and finance. Photo by Christine Nguyen
By Christine Nguyen, North News intern
Caramelized jalapenos in a chocolate chip cookie? Brownies made with beets?
The young employees of the Green Garden Bakery say sneaking more vegetables into our diets is not the main priority. The youth and leaders see their unique - and oh-so-delicious - baked goods as a vehicle for community change.
Green Garden Bakery is a youth-run, award-winning business that started in 2014. The business itself was born out of kindness for a neighbor. The original founders were in a cooking class when a community member got into a bad car accident.
After hearing the news, they combined their knowledge of cooking and created green tomato cakes, which they sold to raise $1,500. The group then decided to turn their creative twists on desserts into a full-fledged business.
The bakery recently opened a storefront at 815 Sumner Court that is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Among the items for purchase are cookies with edible flowers. Photo by Christine Nguyen
The bakery employs up to 60 youths in the summer and 20 during the school year. Its mission statement: To give youth a voice and show the community that they can make a lasting positive impact.
“We want to make it safer for the kids in the community.” said Nate Wilson, a 16-year-old youth leader at the bakery. “We don’t want to just do things for ourselves, we also want to give back to our community and do things for them so they can have a safer environment to live in.”
One example of Green Garden Bakery expanding its mission is a plan by youth leaders to revitalize a nearby park, which has a damaged gate, broken swings, and uneven sidewalks.
Youth leaders say they want to make their communities safer, as well as bring them together through healthy and delicious alternative desserts. One-third of the profits is for worker wages, a third is reinvested back into the business, and a third goes toward community causes.
Green Garden allows for their workers to shape their practical skills, helps them get into business, gives them responsibility, and opens their eyes to new opportunities. From the gardening crew, a sales team, baking crew, community crew, sustainability crew, quality control, and even a garden spa team, youth stay busy while getting to learn new skills.
“Green Garden Bakery helped me get into a lot of business stuff and have a lot of responsibilities before I’m older. ” Raija Medeiros, one of the bakery’s youth leaders, said. The job inspired them to pursue a career in finance.