13-Year-Old Boy Opened a Bakery to Give Pastries Away to the Homeless

By Amanda Froelich

More than enough food is produced around the world to feed the global population, yet an estimated 821 million people go hungry each year. This is largely due to greed and the unbalanced distribution of resources. While it will likely take years to remedy this conundrum, one young man is taking matters into his own hands.

In addition to having a heart of gold, 13-year-old Michael Platt has a passion for baking. After learning about the homelessness crisis, he decided to be the change he hoped to see in the world by opening a bakery. Michael’s Desserts operates on one-to-one business model, similarly to Toms Shoes. For every pastry that a customer buys, a pastry is given away to an underprivileged person.

Once or twice each month, the 13-year-old travels from his home in Bowie, Maryland to Washington D.C. where he hands out dozens of baked treats to kids, adults, and families in domestic violence and homeless shelters. The philanthropic teen also works with the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit No Kid Hungry to distribute the pastries.

“I always wanted to have a purpose for what I do,” Michael told the Washington Post. “It’s all about helping people—not just having a purpose for yourself, but thinking about, ‘How does this touch other things?’”

While most of the dessert orders are for people in the D.C. area, the baker says he has made out-of-state shipments as well.

The teen is cooking up big things and he already has nearly 6,000 followers on his Instagram page.

Here are some of his dynamic desserts:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I was finally able to make Cereal Milk Ice Cream!!! Woohooo! I’ve been wanting to make this from the moment I heard about @milkbarstore on Chef’s Table. This is Honey Cinnamon “Cereal Milk” Cashew Ice Cream with toasted and crushed cereal, apples and honey on top. 😋 I used the last box of my very very favorite Kashi by Kids cereal: Honey Cinnamon. @kashi (It’s so good) and toasted it. Y’all, when I toasted it I almost ate it all. 😂 If you toast this cereal you will want to eat it like popcorn. If you decide to make this try reducing your cashew milk so that it’s even creamier. I sweetened my creme anglaise with natural sugar and left out the egg yolks so it would be plant based. Enjoy!! #cerealmilk #cashewmilk #plantbased #kashibykids #awesometogether #icecream #vegan #vegetarian #apples #dessert #boybaker #kidbaker #kidpreneur #michaelsdesserts #kidswhocook#cereal #milkbar #kashibykids

A post shared by Michael Platt (@michaelsdesserts) on

 

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“Your business model isn’t sustainable. What can a cupcake do?” My answer to adults who tell me this: In my opinion a cupcake can do a lot! I’ve seen a cupcake inspire smiles, tears, amazement, joy, satisfaction, happiness and other private emotions that I won’t share out of respect for people’s dignity. I’ve passed a cupcake to someone sitting with all their possessions in a shopping cart and had them tell me that this one simple act gave them hope. I’ve left a cupcake beside someone who’s sleeping under blankets on a grate because their friend on the grate next to them said it was ok when I asked. That’s why I give away cupcakes. I’ve been told that my business model isn’t sustainable and that I can’t scale my business while giving away a dessert equal in value, ingredients and labor to the ones I sell. I just look at those people and think about the next cupcake I’m going to give away! #hunger #changetheworld #giveaway #cupcakes #food #foodaccess #foodjustice #foodsecurity #dignity #feedthepeople #cookies #pie #changeagent #bethechange #kidpreneur #dreams #hope #sweettreats #oneforone #1for1

A post shared by Michael Platt (@michaelsdesserts) on

 

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Last night’s dessert! These were fun to make. I’ve got some ideas…stay tuned. 🤓 #happypesach #passover

A post shared by Michael Platt (@michaelsdesserts) on

You can follow Michael’s artistry and efforts on his website and Facebook page.


By Mandy Froelich | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com

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