Therese O'Sullivan holds an orange cake with cream cheese icing surrounded by Te Ara Korowai members Jack Rowe (left), Arathena Kennedy, Rumki Majumdar and Shane Ford. Photo / David Haxton
Therese O'Sullivan holds an orange cake with cream cheese icing surrounded by Te Ara Korowai members Jack Rowe (left), Arathena Kennedy, Rumki Majumdar and Shane Ford. Photo / David Haxton
In September 2014, Nicola Murray and Marie Fitzpatrick found themselves discussing the woes of the world over a glass of bubbles.
It made them feel pretty helpless, so they decided to use their shared love of baking to try and make the world a better place.
That’s when Good Bitches Baking was born in Karori, with the goal of giving a little bit of kindness (in the form of tasty baked treats) to people having a hard time.
But delivering kindness quickly spread throughout the country, and now Good Bitches Baking is in 30 locations nationwide, including one in Kāpiti.
“Our criteria is simple – we’re looking for places where there are people who are having a tough time, who want to receive baking regularly. We don’t judge why people are having a tough time,” Good Bitches Baking say on their website.
The Kāpiti branch is spearheaded by Therese O’Sullivan, who joined the team about four years ago, and consists of 90 bakers and 20 organisation recipients.
Cookies that were made by one of the bakers. Photo / Belinda Barber
“It’s about being kind to somebody who isn’t expecting it.”
Therese, who originally volunteered for Bellyful in Wellington, a charity that cooks for families with children who are in need, said they get a lot of inquiries from people who want baking, but Good Bitches Baking only delivers to organisations who work with people going through difficult times.
Some of those organisations are Mary Potter Hospice, Kāpiti Community Corrections, Kāpiti Community Foodbank, Birthright Kāpiti, Home4All, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, and many more.
“It’s a little bit of sweetness in our community and a moment of happiness to people going through a tough time,” Therese said.
Their baking may not be big, but Therese said it’s about showing people in need that someone is thinking about them, and that’s more important than the baking itself.
“For us who bake it’s not big, but for the people who receive it, it just means someone is thinking about them. It’s not about the baking, it’s about the kindness and the intention.”
A Good Bitches Baking-made slice. Photo / Belinda Barber
The baking is a pretty simple process, with bakers choosing how often they want to bake, whether that’s once a week, once a month, or something else, and then a roster is created.
While the bakers can’t choose which organisation they bake for, they can choose what they want to bake, whether that be cakes, muffins, biscuits, scones, slices, or anything else.
Bakers are also required to use their own ingredients, but if someone can’t afford to bake there is a ‘Cup of Sugar’ option on Good Bitches Baking’s website which means they can get a supermarket voucher to allow them to buy ingredients to bake.
It’s a little bit of sweetness in our community and a moment of happiness to people going through a tough time.
“It’s for if people want to bake but can’t afford it, because it’s very expensive.”
Once the baking is done, it’s packed into food-grade boxes with an ingredients list in case of allergies or preferences.
The bakers often leave little notes with the baking as well, to try and brighten the recipient’s day, and Therese said often people will hold onto those notes and reread them.
A cake made by one of the bakers. Photo / Belinda Barber
Then each baker makes their own deliveries.
Once the baking is in the hands of the organisation, they can choose who they want it to go to.
“They really look forward to it.”
Therese said often a lot of the recipients have never had home baking before so they “really appreciate it”.
And because they’re a charity and don’t sell any of their food, they’re exempt from commercial food preparation standards, meaning they are allowed to make food at home in non-commercial kitchens to donate to those in need.
Therese said they’re always looking for more bakers, especially in Ōtaki, and “it’s not all women”, so if you want to join Good Bitches Baking, you can sign up on their website at www.gbb.org.nz.
