Sarah Day Sumbera knows food. She’s the magic chef behind Sugar Heaven bakery, a home bakery she opened in 2023. Her careful creations – they have to meet the high standards she sets for herself – tend to sell out.
Sumbera also pays close attention to the needs of youth in the area and she noticed something: Some of them need more food than they’re getting.
There are food pantries in town, which are clearly needed. But those items often require additional ingredients – butter, milk, or eggs, for example – that hungry kids probably don’t have.
So Sumbera launched a project that she insisted would be complete in a flash: an outdoor snack shack for kids filled with ready-to-eat foods. From start to finish, she announced her intention to have it up and running within a week. Locals pledged their support – then the project went viral on TikTok.
“People from all around Michigan sent some donations yesterday and they’re all saying they wish they were in Newberry because of the strong sense of community,” Sumbera said on Monday. She’s promised to keep receipts so donors can see, if they want, exactly how their money was spent.
Using all the money and donations she received last Friday from her bakery, which opens just once a week, she ordered a tall outdoor cabinet and painted it pink – her signature color. She called it the Sugar Heaven Kids Cupboard and installed the cabinet on the property of 96.7 Flash FM on West John Street in Newberry.
“It’s small, but I can restock it daily,” Sumbera said.
The cupboard is loaded with cereals, breakfast items, water and Gatorade, ramen noodles, and canned meal foods. All cans can be opened without a can opener and all foods can be prepared without a stove. The kids cupboard also has basic hygiene supplies.
“So far it looks like the kids really like stopping in for a Gatorade and snack while they’re out playing,” Sumbera said in an update to followers. “If it keeps growing in support, we’re going to make this a bigger concept but right now we’re in a small beginning.”
To that end, Sumbera will be contributing a portion of her baking proceeds all summer to keep the pantry stocked and prepare to expand the young operation.
