Madison bakery rises to the occasion to help Ukraine

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A bakery in Madison is joining a worldwide relief effort to help the people of Ukraine as the Russian invasion extends into a second week.

Bloom Bake Shop on Monroe Street is baking “hamantaschen” starting Friday, March 4th. Hamantaschen is a traditional Jewish pastry baked in the form of a triangle that is relatively common in eastern Europe.

Bake shop owner Annemarie Maitri says 70% of sales of all hamantaschen will go to support SOS Ukraine – an organization helping to provide food and medical care to the people of Ukraine.

Hamantaschen is baked in the form of a triangle and has a fruit filling like apricot or raspberry — Hamantaschen is baked in the form of a triangle and has a fruit filling like apricot or raspberry(Annemarie Maitri)

“I feel like as a being that cares about other beings, I think it’s impossible for it not to impact me and others. I don’t think I’m alone in my feelings,” said Maitri.

Maitri says the idea originally came from a baker in Berlin, Germany and that the effort has spread to other countries as well.

“France, China, Canada, we are all baking,” she said.

Bloom Bake Shop will continue to bake hamantaschen through March 17th.

“I hope we can make more than we can handle because that means we are really impacting people,” said Maitri. “If we sell around 3,000, that’s around $5,600.”

Each pastry is sold for $2.50. They are hand-made in the bakery and usually have a fruit filling like raspberry or apricot.

People lined up outside the bakery before 8 a.m. to get their hands on the pastries.

People line up outside Bloom Bakery in Madison. Many of them are hoping to get some hamantaschen. — People line up outside Bloom Bakery in Madison. Many of them are hoping to get some hamantaschen.(Tim Elliott)

“We think it’s really nice that Bloom Bake Shop is supporting the Ukrainian people,” said customer Jim Harnett. “It connects people and people want to do something to help the situation there and this is one way small way of doing it.”

Maitri expects to be pretty busy selling the treat over the next two weeks.

“We have rearranged our production schedule to make this a priority,” she said.

“I just love that I’m a part of -- even if it’s just a tiny part -- like it makes me feel good,” said cake decorator Hannah Schecher. “Because you do you feel totally helpless when you watch what is unfolding in the world,”

Maitri says even though the conflict is happening a half a world away, she feels obligated to help out.

“We have to collectively feel that we can make a difference,” she said.

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