Students at Farmin-Stidwell bake for good
Students in Kim Ball's 4th grade class pose with the bread that will be delivered to the Hoot Owl Soup Kitchen Monday morning at Farmin-Stidwell Elementary School.
Courtesy of BETSY DALESSIO
Students in Lindsay Dvorak's fifth grade class participate in the Bake for Good virtual assembly Friday at Farmin-Stidwell Elementary School.
Jase Chapman, a fourth grade student in Erin Bristol's class, baking at home.
Freya Bearly, a fifth grade student in Mac Hollan's class, baking at home.
Ella Landon, a fith grade student in Mac Hollan's class, baking at home.
SANDPOINT — Farmin-Stidwell students baked over 115 handmade loaves to donate to the Hoot Owl soup kitchen thanks to the school’s educators and King Arthur Flour’s “Bake for Good” program.
On Friday, the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students had a virtual assembly, with 16 classrooms calling in for a presentation as Michelle Kupiec, a baker for the company, did a live demonstration of how to bake bread.
Students were able to ask questions throughout the process, and have the baker respond in real time, said assistant principal Betsy Dalessio.
“What was really cool is that the baker had finished products there so she was able to show them exactly what the finished products would look like and then she also went a little deeper based on feedback,” Dalessio said. “We had a student ask, ‘well what if we want to do cinnamon rolls?’ And we had enough time where she actually demonstrated how to make cinnamon rolls.”
The bread was distributed at the Hoot Owl Monday. Savannah Mort, the organizer of the soup kitchen, said she’s grateful for the donation.
Over the past few months, between 150-200 people have come to the soup kitchen every Monday, she said.
“We all benefit from these types of donations one way or another,” Mort said. “It’s definitely a treat for customers to have homemade fresh bread to eat, and it’s also a blessing to the volunteers who may get the evening off from preparing their meal.”
The program wasn’t just a fun activity for students, Dalessio said, but fed into their STEM curriculum. One area that interested students was learning about how yeast works.
“They really seemed to be interested when she was speaking to them about yeast and yeast being alive and what it does,” she said. “She showed them what to do, like they need to cover the bread, but then she had dough that was ready to go and so they were able to see what would happen.”
After the demonstration, roughly 200 students were sent home with baking ingredients donated by King Arthur Flour.
The company sent the school two pallets of baking supplies, including baking kits with whole wheat and all-purpose flour, yeast and other tools students needed for the project.
Students baked over the weekend and were provided enough supplies to bake a loaf for themselves and a loaf to share.
Dalessio said students were “thrilled” to be a part of the project, and the school collected braided bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, garlic bread, breadsticks and more.
“What I love most about this collaboration is the opportunity for students to support our community while spending time with family. Giving back, spreading kindness, and learning a little at the same time is a win for everyone,” Dalessio said.
