‘Bread Elves’ of Grand Rapids donating extra bread to local food pantry
February 17, 2021
Two women from West Michigan are doing what they can to help their communities fight hunger by teaming up with Apple Spice Lunch Box and Delivery in Byron Center.
Bonnie and Jenny volunteer their time and a lot more in hopes of making a difference.
“It’s not too much work. But I just like to help others out,” said Jenny Durfee with Apple Spice Lunch Box and Delivery Company. “Just anything that I can do and save waste is very helpful.”
The word “helpful” would be an understatement for what Jenny Durfee is doing to help her neighbors.
“It’s a lot of bread,” she said. “It is.”
After a conversation with Nancy Jacobs, the owner of Apple Spice Box Lunch Delivery and Catering in Byron Center, Jenny decided to use the daily leftover bread to feed people in need.
“There was a little bit too much bread leftover at the end of the day,” Jenny said.
By a little, Jenny means anywhere from 50 to 300 loaves of bread.
Instead of throwing it out, she believed it could be of great value somewhere else. “I was familiar with Streams of Hope,” said Jenny. “So, I asked them if they would like to have it to hand it out to those less fortunate, and they accepted. And that was only two times a week. So, the rest of the time I just bring it home with me and set it in my front yard.”
“So, she set up what we called Jenny’s Bread and Lemonade Stand,” said Nancy Jacobs. “And she sets up a table, sets the bread out, and just gives it away for free. And then her neighbors have been so grateful. Some of them have taken it, given it to their elderly parents, different people that they know who are in need, who can’t get out to get food.”
