The right ingredients for kindness
Good Bitches support people going through tough times
Justine Street is a Good Bitch. The Foxton Beach woman heads the newly formed local chapter of Good Bitches Baking. The Good Bitches Baking ethos is to support people who might be going through tough times by donating fresh baking to recipient organisations, who then distribute the baking as they see fit.
The local chapter’s recipient organisations to date include Women’s Refuge and a Teen Parent Unit at a secondary school.
It had received support from GBB head office and launched officially this month. It is the 30th and most recent chapter nationwide, with chapters as far north as Whanga¯rei and as far south as Invercargill.
A roster was set up to co-ordinate bakes. It could be that members baked once a week or at times that suited, but at least once a month.
Street gave a five-minute talk at a business forum recently that created a large amount of interest and brought more bakers to the mix.
There are already 15 volunteers onboard and more bakers meant it could look to support more organisations.
“We’re working on more,” she said. Street said she loved baking — her signature creation was lemon and poppy seed muffins — and after having baked for Kapiti GBB she set about helping establish a presence in Horowhenua.
Anyone can be a Good Bitch. Street said she had no problem with the name of the organisation and it was no different to a similar gender term, “good bastard”, that was used frequently.
Both were firmly entrenched, colloquial terms of endearment.
The organisation’s national website said it was all about “spreading a bit of sweetness in our community. We aim to give a moment of happiness to people going through a tough time”.
“Anyone can be a Good Bitch – it’s a very admiring and gender-inclusive term. Good Bitches are people who want to help those in their community who are having a tough time. You don’t have to be a master baker, because it’s the kindness in your intentions that matters more than the final product,” the website says.
Good Bitches can bake or deliver baking, or both. If you’re a baker, you supply your own ingredients, but a cake box is provided complete with ingredients notes, and a sweet note as well.
Drivers have their own car and pay for petrol.
Lots of the baking is done at the weekends and picked up on a Sunday, usually from your house. Some recipients like to get baking during the week — there are options to fit most people’s schedules.
“All baking is well received. You can decide what to bake and how much — you don’t need to be a patisserie chef or have a big budget. The only common ingredient is care for the people you’re baking for and all our Good Bitches put lots of this into everything they’re baking,” the website says.
Recipient organisations could include boarding houses, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food banks, hospital wards, hospices, refuges and mental health support services.