Courtesy of Rebecca Coffin
- Rebecca Coffin is the owner of Hailey's Kitchen Cafe & Bakery in Windham, Maine.She's offering free meals to those about to lose SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown.She's had an outpouring of offers to help fund free meals.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with bakery owner Rebecca Coffin. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I am interested in feeding people. It's what I've done my whole life.
My first job was bussing tables, and then I ended up traveling around the US as a young woman, working in restaurants and learning my craft.
I then came back to Maine and started a family. And now I get to help my community with the business I started with my son.
I founded a bakery and café with my son
My son was struggling in school and had a lot of anxiety. I ended up pulling him out and homeschooling him. We were learning fractions, so I began baking with him. And then, we needed to learn hands-on things like how to manage finances and count money, so we started bringing baked goods to farmers' markets. In 2017, we began Hailey's Kitchen in Windham.
Courtesy of Rebecca Coffin
We primarily stock baked goods, including orders for pies, birthday cakes, and wedding cakes. We also offer a variety of food options, such as sandwiches, soups, avocado toast, bagels, smoothies, and frappes — a plethora of amazing things.
I recently posted a response to the news that SNAP benefits won't be paid in November
I post on Facebook every day for my business, sharing our rotating menu so our followers will know what we are serving that day. I went to post, and I saw a post from the local CBS affiliate WGME that talked about the loss of SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown.
Courtesy of Rebecca Coffin
I thought, "How many people are going to be affected by this in our immediate community?" Our food banks are already stretched, and people are struggling. I thought, "I have a restaurant, I cook, and I feed people, so that's what we're going to do."
I posted that if anyone you know needs a meal, please come to Hailey's. It was reposted in at least five Facebook groups within 24 hours.
The support has been overwhelming
I began to have anxiety as I started to think about how much food this could be, but I didn't need to worry. My phone has been blowing up with people asking to help, and I'm so happy it's paying off.
We've already had large monetary donations. A woman called me from Pennsylvania, and a woman drove here from Massachusetts to meet us and give us money. An older couple, a woman placing a Thanksgiving pie order, and people coming in to buy their breakfast sandwich — they've all given financial support.
The community has rallied around us to help support our neighbors. I was prepared to take a financial loss to pay for the meals, but I haven't had to.
I've seen the impact already
Here's how it works: We put a sticky note on the wall that says "free meal" or "free coffee," which someone can bring to the register. We're trying to come up with a better system, but we've had people use it already. I'm so happy we have so many to give. I don't care if your SNAP benefits aren't coming, or if you don't have access to food — I'll give anyone a meal, I'll do anything to help.
This week, I helped a woman who has been living in a hotel with her two children for almost a year, working over 60 hours a week, trying to make it work. She will finally move into a new apartment in a few weeks, but she just needed a little support for food because she's so stretched financially right now. We bought her groceries. If someone needs a winter coat, I hope they come here and ask because I'll make sure they get one.
It's not political. Feeding people is just humanity. My values are not to let people starve and go hungry. I'm 100% on board with making sure that people get their needs met in any way.
