As part of our 100th birthday celebration, we invited the community to help us help others. That’s right—YOU! Throughout the year, we collected donations of shelf-stable birthday cake ingredients to distribute to our community via local food pantries. It’s a small movement with a big payoff—spreading joy to all kids on their birthdays!

And YOU delivered! 

It was really that easy.

When we gathered each month to assemble and deliver the cake kits; we placed your donation in an aluminum cake pan, added this birthday wish and instruction sheet, then sealed it in baggies (generously supplied by Acorn Distributors) and a can of Starry to provide everything our neighbors need for a memorable birthday treat.

We know what you’re asking. Yes, we said Starry. You can use a can of soda to bake a cake.

Here’s why:

Regular cake ingredients—like eggs, water, and oil—react with baking powder in the cake mix to create bubbles of carbon dioxide. When placed in the oven, those bubbles start to expand, giving the cake a nice fluffy texture. That’s where the can of Starry comes in! It adds bubbles to the mix so your cake will be nice and fluffy.

• Gleaners Food Bank
• Mid-North Food Pantry
• Acorn Distributors Inc.
• Pepsi
• Kroger
• Hylant Insurance
• New Hope Indiana
• The Children’s Museum staff 

Here are some other special highlights from a year of giving away birthday cakes:

Thank you for helping us help to put a smile on everyone’s faces for our 100th birthday! 

It was a wonderful way to celebrate our milestone birthday. We couldn't have done it without YOU.