How the BAC gives back

If you’ve ever attended an Ontario chapter of the Baking Association of
Canada (BAC) event, such as the night at the races, golf tournament or
educational seminar, you have likely been kindly cajoled into purchasing
an arm’s length of raffle tickets.

If you’ve ever attended an Ontario chapter of the Baking Association of Canada (BAC) event, such as the night at the races, golf tournament or educational seminar, you have likely been kindly cajoled into purchasing an arm’s length of raffle tickets. Many of you have asked, “Where does the money go?”

Funds generated by Ontario chapter BAC events have been earmarked for helping train the future generation of bakers.

Ontario chapter members may not know that all profits from events are carefully managed. The committee decided to use any funds generated by these events in assisting with bakery-focused education. The committee meets monthly to discuss issues that affect our industry. The focus in recent years has thus been assisting the baking schools in Ontario.

To recap 2013 activity: the Ontario chapter donated $25,000 to the creation of a scholarship endowment for the Centennial College bakery program. Due to our contribution, the college set up a matching fund. In addition, we donated $2,500 to George Brown College, $2,400 to Humber College and $1,000 to Thistletown Collegiate (TCI) in support of their European Culinary Adventure. Many of TCI’s students live at or below the poverty line and would have challenges planning such an event. Most of the money donated by the Ontario chapter is the culmination of many events over the past few years as well as funding that was a result of the past BAC amalgamation.

In 2013, our education committee initiated a program to provide student bakers with tool kits. Each kit has over 24 pieces of equipment, including knives, piping bags, pastry bags and tips, spatulas, plain and fluted cutters, towels, an apron and much more. Last year, 10 kits were awarded to deserving students.

To date, in 2014, our commitment to educational support of Ontario’s future bakers and pastry professionals continues to grow. At the college level, a $25,000.00 endowment donation is scheduled for another Ontario college bakery program. The BAC Ontario chapter will continue to work with high schools and Skills Canada to further prepare students for their post-secondary bakery education. Beginning this year, the Ontario chapter will work to develop programs for experienced bakers to further their education. We are also creating programs for grassroots bakeries so they can stay on top of upcoming trends in the industry.

Next time you attend one of our events or purchase a raffle ticket, you can be proud that you are helping create educational opportunities for both today’s bakery tradespeople and the next generation of industry professionals.

If you are a member of the BAC Ontario chapter and have an accredited Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities program that teaches the principals of baking at the high school or post-secondary level in Ontario and believe that your program would benefit from educational assistance, please contact us by email at info@baking.ca to submit your proposal. Please title the email “Bakery program request for financial support Ontario chapter”

Philippe Trepanier, CCC, is a sales specialist in bakery division at Handtmann Canada. He is a certified chef de cuisine.