A charitable baking group with a memorable name is in search of new members in Thames.
Good Bitches Baking is a movement which sees more than 3000 volunteers nationwide prepare baked goods on a regular basis, for community groups helping those going through tough times.
The Thames chapter is currently the smallest in the country at only 15 members, but “Head Bitch” Stacey Dunlop is keen to recruit.
“‘Bitches’ come across like it has to be females… Anyone’s welcome. We’ve got a big age range, it’s a large range of people that do it. [But] it’s dwindled a bit lately – no one has heard about it,” Stacey said.
“I feel like there’s more of a need, and I think we could be utilised a bit more, if people knew about this. I like that it’s Thames people giving straight to Thames people. That’s quite cool. I’d like to make it grow.”
The premise for the group is simple. Members sign up to a roster where they commit to baking once or twice a month, or whatever suits their schedule. They fill up a baking box with a batch or two of whatever they feel like whipping up, and then deliver the goodies to their rostered recipient.
Recipients meanwhile, are simply people who are doing it tough – whatever that means to them. Currently the Thames chapter has five recipients on its books: the Waikato Cancer Society, Hospice Waikato, Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki – Hauraki Women’s Refuge, the Living Well Trust Foodbank, and the Thames Hospital chemotherapy room.
Stacey, who took over management of the Thames chapter just three months ago, is also keen to expand the recipient list. She said the ideal candidates would be organisations servicing those who were struggling and needed something to brighten their day – a group with regular scheduled meetings or deliveries was ideal.
“Like Hospice: they’ve got meetings on a particular day, they’ve got their bereavement group. And I’ve been a nurse in Thames for probably the last 12 years or so, so it’s kind of how I got the chemo room involved,” Stacey said.
“The food bank just love us, they think it’s great. They get excited when they see the white boxes coming, which was cool to hear. And the chemo room, we just started, but they’ve been really happy as well with how it’s worked out and it’s been a smooth process to bring them on.”
And potential bakers need not be put off by the group name.
“Anyone can be a Good Bitch – it’s a very admiring and gender-inclusive term,” the website said.
“Good Bitches are people who want to help and like to just get stuff done. You don’t have to be a master baker, because it’s your kindness that matters the most.”
Stacy agreed, saying it was all about giving back to others. She got into baking herself as a hobby during lockdown, and now that she has small children she said it’s something that she can do for others that fits her lifestyle.
“I like baking but I also like giving it away for people who are having a rough time. It’s nice to be able to give them something,” Stacey said.
“And the kids [are] trying to get involved too, which is quite fun for my four-year-old. He’s quite good at baking, he likes to crack the eggs in and stuff.
“So that’s fun for the both of us. And he knows what I’m doing as well, which is nice. He brings it with me [on deliveries] and sometimes hands it over.”
DETAILS: To find out more or to register as a baker or recipient, visit www.gbb.org.nz and click “get involved”.
