Growing up as a recipient of food bank donations, Random Acts supporter Abigail Iubhar noticed a lack of variety in available food items. Commonly donated food items include canned vegetables, pasta, rice, and cereal. But brand name items that kids could brag about, fun ingredients like sprinkles, and gluten-free options would rarely be available.
“Donations always seemed to be leftover canned food no one would eat and off-brand ingredients, at best,” said Abigail. “As an adult, the gluten-free selections in food banks are slim. Having any is a huge plus.”
When food banks receive baking mixes, they often require additional ingredients such as oil, eggs, frosting, and butter to actually bake the items. Unfortunately, these ingredients are not donated as frequently as the baking mixes themselves.
Recognizing the need for these extra baking ingredients, Abigail decided to include them in her baking kit donations to her local food bank. Using a micro-grant from Random Acts’ 1k acts initiative in 2021, Abigail donated 182 pounds of food to Community Emergency Assistance Programs (CEAP) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Donating Gluten Free and Egg Free Baking Ingredients
Just-add-water baking mixes are the most convenient for baking without needing additional ingredients. But these mixes are not suitable for people with gluten restrictions.
Gluten-free mixes often require eggs, but not everyone who is gluten free can eat eggs. In addition, eggs are difficult to donate because they have a much shorter shelf-life than non-perishable items.
While shopping for the baking items, Abigail and her friend Holly were a bit uncertain about buying mixes that required eggs. Abigail knew how to make egg substitute, and was trying to decide if she should include a recipe and the ingredients with her donations or if there was a less complicated option.
Luckily, they found a shelf stable egg substitute in the baking section, so they returned to buy the add-egg mixes.
“Shopping is always fun when you get to load up 8-10 bags of multiple flours, sugars, chocolate chips, etc.,” said Abigail. “Many wide eyes from other shoppers… I think we explained the act at least half a dozen times.”
Baking with Carbonated Soda Instead of Eggs and Oil
In another region of the United States, Random Acts Regional Representative Tiffany Schweikhart came up with a similar kindness act. Keeping dietary restrictions in mind, Tiffany donated baking kits to Round Rock Area Serving Center in Round Rock, Texas.
Instead of shelf-stable egg substitute, Tiffany had a different idea for an affordable, non-perishable substitution: carbonated soft drinks.
“I wanted to donate the supplies to bake the cake, and include instructions for substituting a can of soda for the extra ingredients required to bake a cake mix,” said Tiffany. “Hopefully this way, more families are able to enjoy baking together.”
Different types of carbonated drinks can be used for baking different types of cakes. For example, Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper can be used for chocolate cakes, Sprite can be used for lemon cakes, and sparkling water can be used for many others.
The Need for Special Diet Donations at Food Banks
Tiffany’s donations consisted of 50 baking kits each including 1 box of cake mix, 1 can of frosting, a disposable cake pan, and instructions for baking the cakes with soda instead of eggs or oil.
Meanwhile, Abigail donated ten full baking kits, each including baking staples, shelf-stable egg substitute, frosting, candles, muffin tin liners, plus a variety of muffin, cookie, and cake mixes. They also donated a couple of bags with extra gluten-free items.
“The CEAP representative was very glad to get our donations,” said Abigail. “They are always appreciative of special diet donations, as they tend to be more expensive and less thought about.”
“I was very happy after dropping off all the groceries. I was picturing kids getting to have multiple choices in cakes and frostings,” Abigail added. “From making bread from scratch to being grateful for just-add-water so they don’t have to figure out cracking an egg… It felt good knowing there were some options.”
