Massapequa Student Bakers Give Back

MASSAPEQUA, NY — Massapequa High School’s aspiring culinary artists are also philanthropists, as students recently participated in the Bake For Good initiative.

Students in the College Art of Baking, Cooking for Today, and Food and Nutrition classes completed a service-learning project by baking hundreds of dinner rolls, which are being donated to local food pantries. Materials were provided by the King Arthur Baking Company. Every student also received a culinary bench scraper and recipe books with ideas for bread, cinnamon rolls and pizza.

Following the Bake for Good concept, each group baked two loaves of bread — one to keep and one to donate. Students prepared the dough on Nov. 16, and then shaped it the following day. Culinary Arts teacher Christina Sabbiondo said that the donation loaves were turned into rolls, which will be given to the food pantries at the YES Community Counseling Center and St. Rose of Lima Church in Massapequa.

With nine culinary arts classes taught by Sabbiondo and Courtney Puricelli, approximately 200 students participated in the initiative. They baked enough rolls to fill more than 40 bags.

“It’s a win-win,” Sabbiondo said. “They get to learn about baking bread and also learn about giving back to their community.”

Using the loaves of bread to keep, students celebrated their successful charitable endeavor with a French toast party at the end of the week.