Students Bake and Sell ‘Challah for Hunger’
University of California, Davis (Davis, Calif.)—
It’s an idea so simple you may wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself: Grab a few friends and bake some deliciously eggy challah, then sell it and donate the proceeds to help feed the hungry around the world.
That idea was the inspiration behind Challah for Hunger, an organization with chapters at 44 colleges and universities across America—and two in Australia—dedicated to making and selling the much-loved traditional Shabbat bread to raise money for hunger and disaster relief organizations. CfH was founded in 2004 by students at the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of seven liberal arts colleges in Southern California. So far, they have raised over $250,000.
Each chapter is self-governing and donates half its proceeds to CfH’s national cause—the American Jewish World Service’s fund for relief and advocacy in Darfur, Sudan, and other parts of Africa—and half to local hunger organizations. CfH pays for some supplies, but the ingredients are all purchased by each chapter with the money they raise from selling the challah. Most chapters sell the bread for around $5 and offer several flavors.
Student organizers of the University of California, Davis chapter said CfH serves a dual purpose: to allow students to give back to their communities as well as bond with their peers while cooking.
“Community service was always a big part of my life growing up, and I love baking challah at home,” said sophomore Jamie Cooperman, the chapter’s co-president. “You get to have fun and learn about Darfur while taking an active role in solving the problem.”
The UC Davis chapter, which is entering its second year, donates to the Yolo County Food Bank in addition to the CfH national cause. They raised more than $4,000 last year, with approximately 20 volunteers at each baking session, according to Cooperman. Most volunteers are active members of Hillel, but several regular volunteers connect with CfH through other community service clubs and Greek organizations, and the group encourages students of all backgrounds to join.
Co-president and fifth-year UC Davis student Chris Brown said CfH’s mission, to provide food and basic necessities to communities in need is one to which people from all backgrounds can relate.
“It brings people of all walks of life together because everyone needs bread,” Brown said. “It allows us to relate on a human level.” Many chapters invite other campus groups to participate and help decide where to donate.
But for many volunteers, it’s just plain fun to bake challah with friends. At UC Davis’ first CfH baking session of the year on Sept. 21, 120 students stopped by the Davis/Sacramento Hillel House to make their own loaves, choosing from over two dozen fillings from tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to Kit-Kats and peanut butter.
Attendees were instructed to pick up two balls of dough, already prepared by the CfH board members, and gently stretch each one into a thin strip about seven inches long. Next, the filling was placed down the length of each strip and the sides of each strip pinched together to secure the filling inside.
To create challah’s signature braid, the two filling-filled dough pieces were twisted together and rolled carefully into a ball. The challah baked for about 40 minutes, as the cooks played Apples to Apples on the Hillel’s front lawn.
As more and more volunteers packed the house, the organizers marveled at the event’s popularity. Only minutes before the event was to start, they remarked that they hoped people would show up.
“This is a great turnout!” Brown later said.
In between kneading dough and choosing fillings, friends greeted each other and chatted about their summers while CfH organizers introduced themselves to newcomers and encouraged everyone to come back to future baking sessions.
“I love challah and don’t bake it often, so this is a nice way to learn how to bake and have fun meeting new people,” said sophomore Jal Arad.
“It’s pretty fun,” said freshman Ryan Cohn, intently braiding a loaf stuffed with Nutella. Cohn said this was the second event he has attended at Hillel and plans to come back in the future.
While challah baked at the day’s event won’t be sold—attendees were allowed to take their loaf home with them for free—the organizers hope those who attended were inspired to return and become part of the Hillel and CfH communities. Though CfH uses Hillel’s kitchen and there is significant overlap in who participates, CfH is its own organization.
“It’s especially helpful for the freshmen,” said sophomore and CfH productions manager Sarah Hartman. “They can come, do community service, hang out and hopefully come back to Hillel.”
Robin Migdol is a senior at the University of California, Davis, where she is majoring in English and Film Studies and enjoys stuffing herself with as much Semifreddi’s challah as she can find. She is a New Voices Magazine national correspondent and this is her first piece for New Voices.
Corrections:The original version of this article said that CfH had raised $200,000. They have actually raised over $250,000. It also said the CfH pays for each chapter’s supplies and ingredients. CfH actually only pays for some supplies, while each chapter buys its own ingredients.
