Sahana Vij shares how she raised funds for greater than 500,000 meals for kids in want together with her cookbook, “Bake Away.”
Aaliya Luthra
Sahana Vij has used her recipes and keenness for cooking to assist feed lots of of 1000’s of individuals in want. (Illustration by Aaliya Luthra)
When Sahana Vij, a sophomore who transferred to NYU, launched a brief cookbook in her senior yr of highschool, she didn’t anticipate it to lift sufficient cash to donate over lots of of 1000’s of meals. Vij donates 100% of her proceeds from the e book to No Child Hungry, a nonprofit working to finish little one starvation within the U.S. “Bake Away” options 20 recipes that take Vij’s love for baking and her relationship together with her household and rework them to have actual social impression.
“Cooking with household is one thing that may be very robust in my household,” Vij shared. “Every recipe relies on an expertise with my household and a distinct metropolis that that have came about in.”
The primary recipe in her e book, for instance, is Temescal Valley Citrus Poppy Seed Bread, a dish impressed by Vij’s recollections of selecting lemons in her grandparents’ backyard. She knew she wished to bake dishes impressed by her childhood, however it wasn’t till she discovered a partnership for her e book that she was in a position to share them with the world.
Vij first heard about No Child Hungry as a toddler, when she participated in a spatula-decorating contest sponsored by the group. When writing her e book, No Child Hungry instantly got here to Vij’s thoughts as a corporation with which to companion. By January of 2022, three months after her e book was printed, “Bake Away” had raised funds for 500,000 meals for kids in want by means of the charity.
Vij lived in Seattle for almost all of her life, and her love for baking began younger, fostered by these round her. As an solely little one, Vij grew up very near her mother and father and her cousins. Her mother and father launched her to the world of baking by means of their on a regular basis meals, which prompted Vij to create recipes of her personal.
“I used to be tremendous keen about it beginning round 4 or 5,” Vij mentioned. “My mother is type of the explanation I bought into it — each of my mother and father are actually huge cooks and so they spent a variety of time within the kitchen. I’d watch them and observe, and I’d kind of have a look at the recipe books however I all the time ended up trying nearer in direction of the dessert sections and taking a look at recipes on-line.”
For Vij, household is the core of “Bake Away.” Impressed by her ardour for baking in addition to her deep love for her household, Vij was in a position to attain into the lives of kids throughout the nation, giving them meals after they had little else.
“‘Bake Away’ is a celebration of baking’s impression on our creativity, self-expression, and private experiences. It’s a mirrored image of what’s necessary in our lives,” Vij writes within the e book.
As a school pupil, Vij hasn’t had the time to bake a lot. Like many different college students new to NYU, she’s been prioritizing getting adjusted to the town and specializing in her coursework.
“I believe I’d wish to bake extra, which I haven’t been doing almost within the slightest now,” Vij mentioned. “In class, I really feel like I don’t actually get to discover my creativity as a lot. It’s a bit of bit troublesome to not have that a part of myself and a part of my mind activated.”
However trying to the summer time, Vij mentioned she hopes to bake extra and reconnect together with her household. For fellow college students who could also be feeling disconnected with their creativity, she had just a few phrases of knowledge for these trying to decelerate and take pleasure in a home-cooked meal.
“Attempt new issues — discover a recipe you’re employed with and get the cling of it,” Vij mentioned. “Tweak it nevertheless you need. You don’t have to purchase a ton of groceries; you don’t wish to have to fret about getting new groceries for a brand new dinner day-after-day. Discover what works for you.”
Contact Rose Clarke at [email protected].