'Great Chappaqua Bake Sale' Held to Combat Childhood Hunger

Last year, more than 2.5 million meals were served to hungry children in Westchester County. Led by Allison Spiegel, Jessica Reinmann and Holly Blum, people in Chappaqua are doing their best to lower the number to zero, one baked good at a time.

The three women spent two months going door to door, collecting donations and organizing the first ever Great Chappaqua Bake Sale. The bake sale, which was held on Saturday morning and afternoon, supported the charity Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale campaign and its No Kid Hungry initiative. The charity hopes to end childhood hunger in American completely by 2015.

From the types of treats being sold to the amount of money being raised, Saturday's bake sale was more white truffle than chocolate chip cookie.

Spiegel stated that "what started out as a small circle of friends doing something to help the crisis with our children turned into a completely community driven event."

Of all of the businesses that the team approached in Chappaqua, Mount Kisco, Pleasantville and the surrounding area, around 90 percent offered donations. Local businesses provided more than 20 prizes, such as dinner for two at Crabtree's Kittle Hous and a raffle. Ten local bakeries and 40 families provided baked goods such as marshmallow-topped Halloween brownies and mudslide cookies.

Children got involved by spreading the word about the bake sale in their classrooms and to their friends. Erik Nicolaysen, the president of Nicolaysen Agency, allowed the team to use his vacant first-floor storefront on South Greeley Avenue as its headquarters for the day.

Share Our Strength says that $25 can feed a child three meals a day for one month, $50 can provide a child with meals for an entire summer, and $100 can supply 25 children and their families with food for a weekend. The Chappaqua team's initial goal was to raise $3,000. As of Thursday, the team surpassed that goal through donations from friends, businesses, families and people who could not make it to the bake sale. All of the Chappaqua team's proceeds go directly to the charity and will be used to aid the fight against hunger in New York State. The money will go towards securing grants for meal programs that provide food for children during the school year and the summer months. Since 2003, the Great American Bake Sale movement has raised over $6 million.

"A number of community members are concerned about childhood hunger in the country," Blum reflected. "[The bake sale has] been a great opportunity to teach our children about what charity really is and what it really means to be charitable."

If you missed the bake sale and still want to donate, the website is www.strength.org.