Making Your Donation

1. Let your hub leader know you’re coming by pre-checking your donation. You’ll find the red donation button on your volunteer dashboard in the Make A Donation section. Select the first box on the left, Loaves & Cookies. It looks like this:

2. You can check your loaves or cookies at any hub or freezer bank that is convenient for you. (Typically, the most convenient is your neighborhood hub.)

3. Heading out of town for the weekend? You can also check your items into one of our freezer banks. Select that radial button, and then from the list, the freezer that is closest to you. Using our freezer banks gives you the ultimate flexibility in your donation timing.

4. You will receive an email confirmation that your items have been pre-checked.

Heading out of town, want to drop your loaves off early? You don’t have to miss a donation, you can bake ahead and take your items to your nearest freezer bank.

A freezer bank is an independent donation location; it is like a hub, and sometimes it is located at your hub. The difference is unlike your hub check-in, where the donations are organized for Sunday. Freezer banks can take donations at any time, well, within reason, that is. Then the freezer bank manager makes sure that your loaves and/or cookies are transferred to the food bank for the next donation date.

You’ll find the Freezer Bank opportunity in the same location as your regular Donation Check-In.

1. Click the Loaves/Cookies Button

2. Select “Freezer Bank”

3. Click the down arrow to reveal the location opportunities. We are adding more and more freezer banks as the weeks and months progress

After checking in your items, your confirmation message will provide the details for reaching out to the freezer bank manager. You can confirm via text, email or phone that you’ll be bringing by your items for cold storage. Then head off to the Bahamas with peace of mind and the positive vibes of a donation that is in the bank!

Have an extra freezer? Want to become a drop point for donations? Freezer banks allow bakers to drop off their donations at times outside of the usual Sunday donation day: easier for those with unconventional schedules, or when vacations or other responsibilities interfere with a Sunday drop off.

As the freezer bank manager, you will be responsible for making sure that the loaves and cookies donated to your freezer are transferred to the food bank for the next donation date. This might mean bringing them to your hub along with your own donations on donation Sunday, or it might be that you drop them off yourself at the food bank Monday.

Still interested? Send us a message and we’ll get back to you soon!

Yes, absolutely, you can still donate those items.

Now, having said that. If you can tie a string around your finger and remember to pre-check for the future, that would be very helpful. Pre-checking your donation is a real courtesy to your hub manager. It makes easy work for them to submit the final counts on donation Sunday. Here is a reminder of our pre-check process.

When you pre-check your donation, it is automatically listed on a printed sheet, placed on a clipboard, and you can simply scribble your initials and dash. No paper bag with your name is needed. Further, it is much easier for a hub leader to estimate the number of bins/boxes to put out. Rest assured, even if your count changes between the pre-check and the physical donation, as when a spouse unexpectedly cuts into one of the loaves, you can easily make a note on the printed check-in sheet.

Baking and donating is wonderful. Baking, pre-checking, and donating is divine!

The great thing about Community Loaves is that you can literally bake whenever it works for your personal schedule, as long as you have access to a freezer.

However, if you don’t have access to a freezer or freezer bank, then you are a Saturday baker. You’ll want to bake on Saturday, package the items on Sunday (which provides plenty of time for loaves and cookies to cool), and then transport them to your designated hub.

Otherwise, you can bake any day of the week that suits your schedule. You’ll still package these beauties up the next day after they’ve had plenty of time to cool (see our Packaging and Freezing guidelines). Then pop the packaged items into your freezer or get them to a freezer bank. What’s a freezer bank? Learn more here.

On your Dashboard, you’ll find a Calendar icon (see below). We list all of our program events on this calendar, from delivery days, to donation days, to food bank tours, and so on.

If you hover over an event on the calendar, you will see a pop up box with more event info. Clicking on an event will take you to the event page, with its full information listed (location, time, volunteer sign up link, if applicable).

My loaves didn’t turn out as planned, can they still be donated? We’ve received scores of inquiries with pictures asking this very question. Not all loaves are Instagrammable, but often, they can still be donated!

Divots and dimples are a sign that your loaves are slightly or greatly over-proofed. Generally, they aren’t as attractive as that beautiful domed loaf, but they sure are tasty and definitely worthy of donation. What about underproofed loaves? The telltale signs of a split at the sides or top again make the loaf a little less attractive but certainly donatable.

OK – what about loaves that are too dark, too short, or just really don’t look like a loaf? Well, now we have a challenge. A good rule of thumb: would you enjoy the loaf as a family? If yes, donate it. If the answer is no, perhaps your kiddo might utter an “EWWW”, maybe that loaf is destined for the compost bin. Gratefully, flour is relatively inexpensive and you can try again. A loaf that is short and squat, looks like a brick, well that is probably not the loaf anyone will take at the food bank so keep it for yourself, make bread crumbs and start again.

Speaking of Starting Again: Consider attending a Baker Debrief session. The collective experience of the attendees will help you work the chinks out of your loaves. We can help you get from wonky to perfect in no time! All Baker Debrief sessions are listed on our volunteer calendar HERE.

Still unsure:  Send us a snap of your funky loaf! We’re happy to give our two cents. Email us at bakersupport@communityloaves.org.

Sample images below, for reference purposes, may provide additional assistance.