Bread-Baking Alumna Raises $56k for Charity
By Austin Grothe ’18
June 29, 2018
Hollie Schaub grew up on the same Oklahoma soil as her father and grandmother — a plot of land homesteaded by her great grandfather in 1893. With no brothers around, Schaub, a 2001 JBU graduate, and her sisters did their part to help their father on the farm. The girls had their hand in growing hard red winter wheat, a key ingredient in the fresh bread baked on the farm.
“My mom was a great baker, and my grandmother was an excellent baker, so it was one of those things that was a natural skill,” explained Schaub. “I never thought that I would be running a bakery.”
Schaub studied pre-medicine at JBU, fueled by a passion for the poor that was sparked by trips abroad in high school and college.
“For as long as I can remember I’ve had a huge heart for the world and for wanting to give back and wanting to serve,” Schaub said.
Schaub planned to serve the poor through medicine after college, but God had a different plan and Schaub joined Campus Crusade for Christ working with college students in Thailand.
In 2005 Schaub married Aaron, a Navy pilot, whose next orders took them to Guam. Schaub continued working with college students through a local Bible college while also completing a master’s degree in intercultural studies from Biola University.
Schaub and her husband moved to Corpus Christi, Texas in 2009, and Schaub began praying about what to do next.
“The Lord woke me up in the middle of the night and said, ‘Start baking bread, because it’s something you can do in your home, and give away the profits to projects you believe in.”
In 2009, while pregnant with their first child, Schaub began baking bread out of her home and hand delivering it to her friends around town. Her company, Fed by Bread, was born, and the proceeds were donated to charitable organizations. Schaub spent the next few years baking off and on as she raised her two older children, Sam and Gwen. In 2012 Aaron deployed for a year, and Schaub invested more time in baking.
“Our orders grew really quickly that year and I got baked out of my kitchen,” said Schaub.
Partnering with a nearby Christian school, Schaub and a group of volunteers baked in the school kitchen to meet the rising demand. In 2013, Fed by Bread was able to donate $10,000 to Compassion International. Schaub’s donations continued to grow, and she began seeking a specific cause to support.
“Children are such a vulnerable demographic of society, and we really wanted to give specifically to vulnerable kids,” said Schaub.
Schaub began searching for an organization to partner with, and found Africa New Life, an organization that helps children rise out of the cycles of poverty through education, acts of compassion and the gospel.
During a trip to Rwanda in 2014, Schaub was drawn to a school where students needed better lunches. Fed by Bread partnered with the school through Africa New Life, and over the last three years the bakery has donated $56,000 to boost the school’s lunch program and sponsor three children.
Schaub continues to make trips to Rwanda to build relationships with the families Fed by Bread is impacting.
“There’s all these issues, and it can seem overwhelming, but you can do something small,” said Schaub. “Clearly I had no idea that it would turn into what it’s become. We love to create good food to love others.”
More Information: Fed by Bread
