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On a recent Saturday near Seattle, Cheryl Ewaldsen pulled three golden loaves of wheat bread out of her kitchen oven.
At a Glance:
Community Loaves has donated over 200,000 loaves of bread since 2020
Nearly 900 volunteer bakers support food banks in four states
Food banks report rising demand amid cuts to federal food aid
Homemade breads offer healthier alternatives to processed donations
The fragrant, oat-topped bread was destined not for her table, but for a local food bank, to be distributed to families increasingly struggling with hunger and the high cost of groceries .
“I just get really excited about it knowing that it’s going to someone and they’re going to make, like, 10 sandwiches,” said Ewaldsen, 75, a retired university human resources direct