Whitney Rutz, with help from her twin, Carrington Light and a friend, is now baking more than 20 giant rolls a week for her fundraising.
Staying at home, Whitney Rutz is going out of her mind.
Despite the pandemic, Rutz is still working full-time while her husband is trying to figure out how to be a first-grade teacher to their 7-year-old daughter.
In addition to these, two of Rutz's friends are COVID-19 positive.
Rutz's lack of control with regard to the situation is taking a toll on her. So, she gathered herself, picked up her iron skillet, and with the help of her daughter, went in on a 3-hour baking project.
The result was fantastic! A giant cinnamon roll that is a full foot in diameter not to mention the fundraising project that garnered more than $30, 000 for the Oregon Food Bank.
A time-lapse video is what it takes
Rutz uploaded a time-lapse video of her giant roll-making process with her friends on social media.
Her friends were all hyped up wanting a piece of her jumbo rolls. One of them even offered to drive from Seattle to pick up a roll.
Rutz being all hyped up as well, her husband about her now-famous giant cinnamon rolls. She said that she needed an idea to keep her rolls rolling, and asked him how much people would pay for a giant roll. She estimated $50 tops for one.
What she did is to auction her giant roll on social media, while indicating that all proceeds will go to the Oregon Food Bank. The highest bid came in at $350.
Rutz made the cinnamon roll and then delivered it on their porch.
However, the second roll that was auctioned came in at a whopping $750. The top bidder paid and suggested she donate the giant roll to someone in the healthcare field instead.
Rutz donated it to her friend in a nursing unit at Legacy Immanuel.
The rolls kept selling and Rutz kept sending the money to the food bank.
Comfort food takes on the light
Noticing how much money Rutz has been donating, the Oregon Food Bank called her and offered to set up a fundraiser on its website.
Currently, for every $500 donated to the food bank, Rutz, in turn, makes a giant cinnamon roll to donate to healthcare workers in Portland.
According to Susannah Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the Oregon Food Bank, for every dollar donations, their organization can distribute three meals. Calculating how much donation Rutz has put up, she and the Oregon Food Bank Network has provided 90,000 meals to Portland.
During the pandemic, Morgan admitted that the food bank is experiencing an increase in requests for food assistance. She mentioned that in her 24 years of being a food banker, this time has the highest rates of hunger that she has ever witnessed.
Morgan added that their system during a pre-pandemic month serves 260,000 people a month. However, during this pandemic, they have seen a 70% increase only within the last seven weeks.
Rutz has hit a magical formula for serving the community with food, joy, and love.
And according to her, these would not have happened without the help of the community
