Baking to Support Food Security
Baking to Support Food Security
How a 15-year-old transformed her passion into a business while helping the community
The high school sophomore behind Sarah’s Tasty Treats donated a portion of her profits to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to help provide 700 nutritious meals to food-insecure families.
Sarah Brown has had a love for baking since she was a toddler. One silver lining of the pandemic is that it has allowed her to invest more time and energy into this passion, eventually turning it into a business.
In Los Angeles County, two million children, families, older adults and individuals struggle regularly accessing sustenance. “With food insecurity, it’s hard to hear that people are suffering because they don’t have enough to eat,” Brown says. “It is a big issue, especially in LA County, and I wanted to do something to help fight this difficult problem.” Through Brown’s donation, more families in need will have nutritious food.
“I wanted to donate to the LA Regional Food Bank because ever since I was seven years old, I have known about the Food Bank and the vital role it serves in the LA community.” Brown visited the Food Bank as a young girl and visited again to volunteer in 2018 and 2019, which re-sparked memories and inspiration to help.”
Baking for a Cause
Sarah Brown dove into her passion for baking at the beginning of the pandemic with extra time on her hands. At first, her family enjoyed devouring the surplus of tasty treats; however, as Brown became more skilled, and friends started asking her if she could bake treats for them, she decided to transition her hobby into a business.
Today, Sarah’s Tasty Treats offers cookies, cakes, cupcakes, loaves of banana bread, specialty cakes and more for birthdays, graduations and other special occasions. Her dad shares that Sarah genuinely enjoys baking – it puts Brown into a kind of Zen state of mind. Baking also allows her to express herself artistically, particularly when it comes to cakes. Her dad explains how Brown’s clients will show her cake photos they find on the Internet and ask Sarah if she can re-create them in the size and cake flavors they desire. Brown is committed to fighting food insecurity and has pledged to continue donating a portion of her profits to the Food Bank.
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“It only takes a few minutes to understand the scope of the food insecurity issue in LA and how a small donation can impact so many others in need. If you want to learn more, there are lots of internet resources (such as the Food Bank’s website) that can help you deepen your understanding of the magnitude of the problem and inspire you to give back to your community.”
“If you’re passionate about something, follow it,” Brown’s mom, Leila, adds. “You can start small, it doesn’t have to be a full-fledged business on day one. If you have a passion, you never know where it will go, unless you pursue it. With Sarah, she is continually getting more interest, and we’re talking about turning our home kitchen into a commercial kitchen this summer so she can promote her business beyond friends and family.”
Aside from baking, Brown is interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), which she studies at Harvard-Westlake School.
“Although I enjoy learning about the different STEM fields, food takes me to my happy place, and it is sad that some people don’t have access to the essential food they need. It feels really good to help those who are less fortunate with staple items that some people may take for granted. People don’t understand how easy it can be to help until they do it.”
Are you inspired by Brown’s creativity and want to learn more about how you can turn your own passion, interests or talents into an online fundraiser that helps provide nutrition for our neighbors who are still struggling? We encourage you to energize your friends, family and peers to fight food insecurity when joining Team #WeFeedLA.
Being a non-profit organization, the Food Bank is able to provide critical support to the community thanks to thoughtful community members such as Brown.
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