Patricia Glade, an administrative assistant at Illinois Valley Community College, is mixing her passion for baking with a strong sense of community commitment. Through her initiative, Crumbs for a Cause, Glade gathers unsold bread and personally delivers it to local shelters and the campus food pantry. Her efforts ensure that those facing food insecurity receive fresh, homemade comfort in the form of baked goods. Students and organizers have praised Glade’s dedication, noting that her generosity fills a crucial gap in available resources. Crumbs for a Cause continues to grow, with hopes of inspiring others to support their neighbors.
“You might not sell out at the market, and I did not want the bread to go to waste,” she said of her idea to donate the unsold loaves. Her family, usually willing tasters, “gets breaded out unless I am trying a new recipe.” So, for a time this past fall, fresh loaves became an incentive to spur donations to the campus food pantry. Donors lined up for deliveries. “It was good to know it had an impact!” Glade said.
For Glade, baking began as a farm chore but evolved into a cherished passion. Starting with her mother at just eight years old, she soon took charge of weekend baking on her own. Glade describes the dough’s transformation as a meditative escape, with the repetitive motions clearing her mind. Experimenting with flavors and shapes, she blends tradition with creativity, often drawing on heirloom recipes or inventing new ones. For Glade, bread-making is more than food; it’s an art and a way to nourish both body and spirit, rooted deeply in her upbringing and family memories. “Everything in your head just goes away, and there is no one in the kitchen – just me. I mix and match flavors constantly. There is a nutritional aspect as well as the artistic aspect in how you score and shape the bread.”
Inventive baker Glade is transforming the world of sourdough with bold flavor experiments that delight customers and challenge skeptics. Her Italian herb-and-cheese loaf has become a local sensation, while the chocolate-covered strawberry sourdough draws curious crowds. Even her taco-flavored bread, initially met with hesitation, has won over doubters. Glade sees bread as a universal symbol of life, love, and care, connecting people across cultures and generations. She emphasizes the art and uncertainty of the three-day sourdough process, noting that the comforting aroma of fresh bread taps deep into our shared human experience. “Bread is about life and love and caring. Every generation and nationality has had some sort of bread attached to it. Sourdough is a three-day process, and a lot of things can go wrong in that time, but a lot can go right and you end up with a fantastic product. When you smell bread, the brain recognizes it is something good!”
The scent of freshly baked cookies means the holidays are here in the Illinois Valley. For Glade, baking is more than a pastime; it’s a cherished family tradition. This season, her kitchen is brimming with sweets, including dozens of hand-decorated sugar cookies for a local concert association—her granddaughter’s group. At the heart of her repertoire is the treasured German lebkuchen cookie, a recipe passed down through generations. Glade’s grandchildren add their own creativity, like using Halloween cookie cutters to create Christmas “Spirits.” Through every loaf and cookie, Glade’s baking continues to unite and comfort her community. And the traditional German gingerbread cookie, lebkuchen, made from a generations-old family recipe, also makes an appearance this time of year. “I am known for my lebkuchen!” Glade said.