Programs

Bake Me Home Tote Bag Program

Our Tote Bag Program began with a simple idea from Amy and Emma. They (with help from their mom, Alison) founded Bake Me Home based upon their own love of baking and spending time together. They started the Tote Bag Program to help families leaving shelters celebrate the beginning of a new life in a new home.  Amy and Emma delivered tote bags to the first shelter in October 2008, and today this program plans to serve more than 500 families from 18 agencies in 4 Ohio counties. A complete list of our partnered agencies is available on our home page.

While their original idea began with a simple jar of homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix, they quickly decided to add all the supplies needed to bake the cookies. This pile of goodies necessitated delivering them in a sturdy tote bag, hence the name for our program. A $10 gift card to Kroger was also added for the essential butter and eggs needed to complete the recipe and to purchase a few other groceries. Finally, a recipe booklet filled with low-cost, kid-friendly, nutritious recipes donated by Nutrition Council of Greater Cincinnati was added with funding from The Ronald McDonald House Charities. While prices can change slightly, the total cost for each of our Bake Me Home Tote Bags averages about $26.

Here’s what’s in the bag:

• Jar of our homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
• $10 Kroger Grocery Store Gift Card
• Bowl*
• Spoon*
• Spatula*
• Baking sheet*
• Potholder
• Toothbrushes and toothpaste
• Family Cookbook with recipes donated by the Nutrition Council of Greater Cincinnati

*not included in food pantry totes