Cooking for a cause
November 2003

Community Connection
Amy Scherber, 43 went door-to-door as a teen in Minneapolis, collecting money for health charities. Today she runs Amy’s Bread, a chain of three bakeries in Manhattan. She also sells wholesale in New York City, where she lives with her husband, Troy Rohne, an actor and the company’s sales manager. Scherber attended culinary school, then worked as a cook before discovering a passion for breadmaking. She opened her first bakery in 1992. Last year, Scherber donated gift certificates, bread and time to more than 100 anti-hunger, sustainable agriculture, health, arts and educational charities, including Volunteers of America, Chefs Collaborative, Earth Pledge and City Harvest.

Popular Causes “I get up to four requests a week for help. I sort out what the group stands for and where my own interests lie. It’s hard-you want to say yes to all of them.”

Down On The Farm “In 2001, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce gave me their Small Business Growth Award for my charitable and business activities.”

Attendance Required “I show up at every event I support – often there are a couple a month – and hand out bread and speak.”

Close To Home “We’re not a big chain or in malls; we’re a real neighborhood business, so we value the people who work and live nearby. They keep us alive; and they bring in their kids, who are our future. Troy and I hope to have our own children one day.”

Learning Curve “We do fund-raisers for schools, and a lot of tours for school children. Kids like to feel the different ingredients for the breads and play with pieces of dough. Then they watch how the bread cooks and get to eat some. They love it.”

Worthy Expense “To run the tours, the business has to hire a guide for four hours a week, which is a cost to us. However, the experience is so valuable for the people who visit, it’s worth it.”

Pizza Delivery “Kids nowadays may not know where food comes from. We had one school group bake pizza with fresh vegetables, which were unfamiliar to a lot of them. When we sat down to eat together, they wanted to taste what they had cooked, but were scared to do so. In the end, they did not eat their meals and were so thrilled and appreciative, they were screaming and hugging me. Sometimes, the kids get a bit unruly, but it’s cute. Then, they sent me thank-you notes on paper shaped like loaves of bread. That kind of thing is memorable, because it’s so emotional.”

All Together Now “There are so many generous people in the food business, because our work is feeding people finding ways to make people happy through food. Working for charities and donating to them are natural extensions of that.”

Giving Back “Volunteering makes my whole day feel valuable. It’s good to get our of your work microcosm and meet people and see what kinds of problems you can solve.”

Bottom Line “Everyone get excited about having something fun to eat.”