When Esther Cunningham was first introduced to the idea of baking bread as a fundraiser for Nativity of Mary Catholic Church, she was a little reluctant.
“I didn’t know anything about baking bread,” she said. “My mother was the one who baked bread, and she was really good at it. Since she always made the bread, I never thought I would have too.”
But 25 years later, the bread baking continues and to such popularity that people begin calling the Independence church weeks before the baking even begins to find out when they can purchase the treat.
“People enjoy it,” said David Townley, business manager for Nativity of Mary. “It tastes homemade and is not outrageously priced. I am surprised each year how many calls we get in regards to this bread. It is its own best advertising.”
Cunningham said the bread is baked four times a year – September, November, February and again in April right before Easter. This time, cinnamon and raisin bread will be baked – almost 450 loaves during the one-day baking event.
“I have been very blessed with this project since the beginning,” she said. “It really has taken on a life of its own. I never thought we would still be doing this 25 years later.”
The fundraiser started at the suggestion of the church’s priest, who had come from a parish in Parkville. Cunningham said the church needed some new fundraisers, so she agreed to “give it a try.”
For the first five years, Nativity of Mary volunteers traveled to St. Therese’s in Parkville because they did not have the necessary equipment. All of the supplies needed were donated.
“They allowed us to come up there and use their equipment,” Cunningham said. “They showed us how to bake the bread and helped us to really get started. We then had couriers take the bread back down to Nativity to sell it.”
After a few years, enough money was raised to purchase a double oven, mixers, bread pans and other equipment. In addition, Cunningham said the fundraiser has become solvent enough where donations are no longer needed from area grocery stores.
The baking has even grown from not only bread but to cinnamon rolls and sticky buns. In a given year, between $12,000 and $15,000 can be raised through the baked goods.
“Nobody who makes 450 loaves in one day can do it the normal way you would if you were at home,” she said. “It is almost like an assembly line. I have people who only measure, others who watch the ovens and more volunteers who work the mixers. No one person bakes a loaf of bread by themselves.”
