Faye and Michael
Gartenberg were only looking for a quick dinner, late one evening
last summer.
But at the end of their meal at Panera Bread in Vernon Hills,
Faye Gartenberg found a hobby, too.
“My husband and I were the last people in the restaurant and
so we saw them throwing everything out at the end of the day,”
Gartenberg said. “We asked what they did with it, and when they
told us that they throw it all away we just felt so horrible.”
Daily bread
The incident prompted Gartenberg to ponder what she could do
to help her community. After a series of phone calls, she organized
a project to connect the leftover bread with social service agencies
serving the needy.
“We feel very blessed,” Gartenberg said on behalf of her husband
and two daughters. “It’s important to do good deeds daily.”
Gartenberg solicited local bakeries, like Panera, to donate their
unused baked goods at the end of a day. Gartenberg spends part
of every day driving around to the bakeries, loading bags full
of bagels, breads, croissants and other goodies into the back
of her mini-van.
She divvies up the spoils and drops them at local recipients,
including the Riverside Foundation, St. Patrick’s soup kitchen,
the Lake County Women’s Rehabilitation Center, the local Assention
of the Lord Greek Orthodox church and a neighboring family of
refuges from Kosovo.
“It’s one of those volunteer jobs that’s really special,” said
Pete Mule, executive director at the Riverside Foundation. “People
often offer to do things like this, but we can’t accept non-commercial
products.
“Faye fights traffic to get from wherever she picks the food
up to us, and they’re all wrapped and usable.”
The foundation uses Gartenberg’s deliveries to supplement their
regular breakfast offerings.
Every once in a while, the Gartenbergs have enough left over
to drop pastries off at the Lincolnshire police, fire and Public
Works departments.
“The merchants have been wonderful to work with,” Gartenberg
said. “They are grateful that someone can use their surplus, and
the charities are thankful to receive the baked goods. It’s a
win-win situation.”
Over the last year, the Gartenbergs have picked up food from
Einstein Brothers Bagels and Laura’s Patisserie in Lincolnshire,
Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods in Deerfield, and the Dominick’s
grocery stores in both Buffalo Grove and Bannockburn. The family
also continues to pick up bagels from Panera Bread in Vernon Hills,
usually on Sundays and Wednesdays.
Gartenberg said the merchants she approached were eager to get
involved.
“Faye just came in one day and asked,” said Laura Pearlman, owner
and chef at Laura’s Patisserie in Lincolnshire. “I had always
been looking for something like this to do with the leftovers.
You have to throw so much of it away at the end of the day, and
I just hate doing that. This program is perfect for us because
(Gartenberg) picks everything up.”
Gartenberg and her daughters pick up leftover breakfast foods
from Laura’s weekly, usually on Saturday mornings. Pearlman said
she usually sends the Gartenbergs home with two giant plastic
bags full of stuffed croissants and brioche, which accounts for
90 percent of what she would otherwise throw away.
Pearlman only gives away food that is still safe to eat and doesn’t
require reheating.
Similarly, general manager Tom Michaelis of Einstein Brothers
Bagels gives Gartenberg 100 bagels a few days each week.
“She’s actually doing a bunch of things for us,” Michaelis said.
“We’re not wasting food, we’re doing a good turn for the community,
and - as funny as it sounds - she’s creating an awareness for
bagels.”
Many benefits
But Gartenberg said her family, too, benefits from her daily
travels. Daughters Cary, 10, and Jamie, 13, often pick up or drop
off baked goods with their mom.
“This has been a nice family activity,” Gartenberg said. “It’s
a great way to spend time together, while helping others.”
The younger Gartenberg women say it’s well worth the few hours
a week they give up. Jamie said it’s rewarding to see so many
bagels not go to waste. She said the time spent driving around
the community doesn’t feel like work to her.
“My friends think it’s cool that I do this,” Cory said. “I tell
them that it feels good to do something that you know is helping
other people.”
Pioneer Press
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