Mari Gallenstein of Big Sky Bread Company Dayton, Ohio. (3070 Far Hills Avenue). You can see her husband Phil baking in the background. They’ve owned and operated this local business for over 20 years.

I’m a regular here because I’m addicted to their blueberry crumbles. The last time I stopped in I asked Mari how the pandemic had affected her business.

“We’ve done everything we can to make this a safe place to shop. Our employees wear masks and we spend a lot of time cleaning everything. We’ve added barriers and changed the layout so there’s a safe distance between the customers and between customers the staff. Business is down from our normal levels but we’re doing OK. A few of the restaurants that sell our products have recently opened back up, which should help.”

“When the pandemic first hit we were contacted by Catholic Social Services. There was more demand than ever for the food that their Choice Food Pantry hands out, but their regular suppliers couldn’t get them any bread. We had decided to close on Saturdays because business was down, so we decided that Saturday would be our time to bake for the pantry. Some customers saw that we were working and stopped in, so we decided to stay open for a half day on Saturdays after all.”

“When people heard what we were doing, some of them gave us money to help cover our expenses. That helped a lot. Recently the regular bread suppliers to the Choice Food Pantry have worked through their problems, so we don’t need to do that baking. But we’re still baking for two other programs – Good Neighbor House and Kettering Backpack. We’ve gotten a lot of support from this community over the years. Helping people get through this difficult period is something we want to do.”

Big Sky Bread Company