Supporting hospital staff with fresh baking

Baker Dawn Kiddie with cupcakes made by Paula Bilbe, one of the many Tauranga bakers providing fresh home baking, with Dr Catherine Parker, Dr Lucy French and clinician nurse manager Rose Christensen from the health and aging ward. Photo: John Borren.

Are you a home baker? Rise up Tauranga is calling on the Bay of Plenty community to provide fresh home baking as a way to show support for the front line staff at Tauranga and Whakatane Hospitals during the next seven weeks.

'We need our awesome community to please provide fresh home baking for hospital staff until Easter,” says Rise Up Tauranga's Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

'During this Omicron outbreak, the Tauranga and Whakatane Hospital staff from the Path Lab, Emergency Department and general hospital ward staff will be going over and beyond to process thousands of Covid tests and care for many people coming into hospital. The hours are expected to be even longer, more intense and stressful than they've already experienced over the last two years.

'Some fresh home baking from the community is a great way to show support.”

On finishing college, Rosalie worked as a medical laboratory technologist at Tauranga Hospital before continuing on with further study at Wellington Hospital.

'So I know first-hand how intense the work can be. Some delicious baking made with love tends to lift people's morale and it will be nice to give all the frontline staff a boost.”

Bakers sign up via a Google Doc form.

'After signing up and choosing their day, we will provide bakers with the details of each location and a map showing them where to go. There will be contactless delivery of the fresh home baking on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 9am and 11am at a drop-off bay at both hospitals. 'Please do not go to the hospital main entrance with your baking,” says Rosalie.

The BOPDHB Emergency Planning Team will distribute the baking to staff.

Baking can include biscuits, cakes, fruit loaf, muffins, scones, tarts, flans or slices, and gluten and dairy free options. Bakers are encouraged to share photos of themselves with their baking on the Rise Up Tauranga Facebook page.

New World Mount Maunganui has cardboard cake boxes available for purchase, which enables home bakers to place their baking in a container which won't need returning.

'We are contacting other supermarkets to see if they can also make their boxes available for purchase,” says Rosalie.

The fresh home baking for hospital staff is a project run by Rise Up Tauranga in liaison with the BOPDHB's Emergency Planning Team. Updates will be posted to the www.facebook.com/riseuptauranga page.

The fresh home baking project for Tauranga and Whakatane Hospital staff is running for seven weeks from Monday, February 28, to Wednesday, April 13.

For more information, contact Rosalie on rosalie@topshelfdesign.com

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