Bake sale raises money to help fight racism

Three D.C. pastry chefs have launched an effort that’s become an international bake sale raising money for community nonprofits working against racism.

Through Bakers Against Racism, professional chefs and home bakers are making and selling desserts, then donating profits to a group of their choice that supports black people in their community. The project launched the first week in June and now has more than 3,000 bakers from 16 countries.

Bakers contact the group on their website to join in the bake sale. Bakers Against Racism then sends participants instructions on how to get started and precautions to take during the pandemic. Each baker is expected to make a minimum of 150 pastries or other goodies and send a majority of the proceeds to an organization that promotes social justice in their community. Once all the baked goods are sold, bakers will record how much they’ve raised on the website.

Bakers are sending donations to local chapters of Black Lives Matter, nearby nonprofits and organizations that support communities of color.

Raisa Aziz, a home baker who lives in Northeast Washington, is preparing to make 250 almond shortbread cookies from her kitchen and donate the proceeds to the Okra Project, which provides home-cooked meals for black transgender people, as well as the Loveland Foundation, which helps black women and girls seeking therapy.

“In these times, but also always, I do feel that we should be using the time, talents and resources we have, however we might be, to give back in some way,” Aziz said.