What’s baking on Distribution Street in South End on Wednesdays
Don’t be surprised if you smell the scents of baking — like hot honey and sugar — along Distribution Street most Wednesdays. It will likely be coming from the kitchen inside Pet Wants: The Urban Feed Store, which just opened at 2324 B Distribution Street this month. (You can still find the store’s products at their usual booth inside Atherton Mill & Market.)
Along with store owner Carmen Larreynaga, individuals served by InReach — a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — are experimenting with dog-biscuit recipes at the new Pet Wants location.
Their baking resources: “The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook” by The Bubba Rose Biscuit Company, and a bunch of ingredients from Healthy Home Market in Plaza Midwood. So far, the group of five InReach individuals have partnered with five InReach staff members on two Wednesdays to try out a couple of recipes, Snickerdoodle included.
Larreynaga and InReach creative coordinator John Wirz are calling this an experiment for now. While they have let dogs stopping by the store sample the biscuits, they are not for sale — yet. The goal is to solidify recipes and packaging, so the biscuits can be sold in the store.
The dogs who wander in aren’t missing out though — Pet Wants, which emphasizes all-natural, fresh ingredients, offers a smorgasbord of treats from lamb ears and smoked buffalo ears to carob chip balls and tuna melt cookies.
Plus, Pet Wants is already selling dog bowls crafted by InReach individuals through a partnership with Clayworks.
“I want to get a lot of locally made stuff at our store — that’s one of my main goals,” Larreynaga said. She stumbled upon InReach bowls at a pop-up shop and now sells them off of her shelves for $38. (When Larreynaga purchased the bowls, proceeds supported InReach programs and the individuals who crafted them.)
As for the InReach individuals who come to the store on Wednesdays, Wirz described the baking experience as a source of excitement for them.
Wirz said if the participants didn’t have an opportunity like this, “They would probably be sitting in group homes watching TV and not really getting out into the public and being creative.”
InReach and Pet Wants started baking together during SHARE Charlotte’s 11-day campaign, Summer SHARE, which allowed community members to get online and purchase wish list items for 77 local nonprofits, to be shipped directly.
InReach is just one example of a nonprofit whose list of needs hasn’t disappeared just because the Summer SHARE initiative ended July 22. Depending on funding from the Arts & Science Council, InReach expects the baking classes at Pet Wants to last at least until October. (The next one is Aug. 3.) They still have needs for the class — like a rolling pin and a convection oven — and SHARE Charlotte still has an open Give Shop online to support nonprofits of your choice.
As SHARE Charlotte put it, need doesn’t get a vacation.
Photos: Katie Toussaint
This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 10:00 PM with the headline "What’s baking on Distribution Street in South End on Wednesdays."