March 30, 2020

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Staff Journalist

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The Old Town Warrenton baker had no idea where the conversation would lead him.A customer on Tuesday, March 17, entered Great Harvest Bread Co. at 108 Main St. and complained “loudly” about coronavirus-related hoarding that made it impossible for her to find bread at local supermarkets, owner Pablo Teodoro recalled.Mr. Teodoro, whose business faced almost certain closure because of the deadly pandemic, recognized an opportunity.In a post that afternoon on Great Harvest’s Facebook page , he explained that the bakery could fill all orders, regardless of size.The post reads: “Friends, grocery store bread shelves are empty. We want to help! WE HAVE DECIDED TO BAKE TO ORDER TOMORROW! NO HOARDING WORRIES! SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE WHO NEEDS BREAD!”Hoarding “was no real possibility” because Great Harvest could meet the demand, Mr. Teodoro said.“You could order 100 loaves of bread or you could order a loaf of bread. It didn’t matter. You’re not stealing or hoarding from anyone, because I’m going to fill their orders as well.”Little did Mr. Teodoro know, but the Facebook post would give his Warrenton bakery a lifesaving boost and help feed the area’s needy.“Within 10 minutes of publishing it, the phone began to ring, which had been all but silent before,” the 53-year-old baker said. “And, it didn’t stop ringing for more than 60 seconds until 7 p.m. that night.”The bakery took 57 orders, totaling 500 loaves.A person who had read the post Tuesday afternoon told him she believed the Fauquier Community Food Bank at 249 E. Shirley Ave. lacked bread.“ ‘I’m really worried about the food bank’,” Mr. Teodoro said she told him. “ ‘My understanding is that they don’t have any bread. Would you be willing to bake bread for them if I paid you $500?’ ”The anonymous donor increased that amount to $700, he said.Mr. Teodoro noted her “amazing generosity” on the bakery’s Facebook page.“Next thing you know there were more and more donations,” he said. “By the end of the day, we had collected $1,400 or $1,500 to pay us to bake bread for the foodbanks. Most people said I don’t care which foodbank, as long as it’s going to people in need.”Individuals and businesses continued to swamp the bakery with donations large and small to supply local and area food banks with bread.Most contributions have ranged from $5 to $20, Mr. Teodoro said.But many totaled hundreds of dollars, he said.Town of Warrenton employees last Friday gave $1,000 to the program — the biggest single contribution to date, Mr. Teodoro said.As of Monday morning, donations reached almost $10,000, allowing Great Harvest to produce 2,000 loaves.“It’s overwhelming,” the bakery owner said of the community’s response. “It’s been very humbling to receive these donations.”Most Great Harvest loaves retail at $7, plus 25 cents tax. For his part, Mr. Teodoro produces them for $5 apiece, donating $2.25 per loaf to the cause.So far, the bakery has distributed more than 600 loaves for two area churches and five food banks, including Fauquier Community Food Bank Community Touch Inc.’s food pantry near Bealeton, Fauquier FISH in Warrenton, Haymarket Regional Food Pantry and Rappahannock Pantry “Having Pablo give us bread is one less thing that we have to worry about getting and bringing into the pantry,” Fauquier FISH Executive Director Carol Schumacher said. “It’s been terrific knowing that we do not have to worry about purchasing it through our suppliers — the grocery stores.“If I need 30 loaves in two or three days, I can contact him and he will make sure that that gets done and have it all ready for us.”Great Harvest last week gave the Fauquier FISH 70 loaves.Mr. Teodoro also last week delivered 30 loaves to Community Touch Inc.’s pantry.“I just commend him tremendously for what he’s doing for the community,” said Tyronne Champion, Community Touch’s co-founder and executive director. “Support him for his efforts. He’s feeding a lot of people.”The bakery last week started to offer free bread at the shop from a metal shelf called the “Pandemic Pantry.”The parents of a former Great Harvest employee gave $300 to start, Mr. Teodoro said.“If you are out of work because of the pandemic and money is tight and can’t afford to buy bread, you just walk in the bakery and take what you need,” he said. “There’s no questions asked. None of us is going to ask you anything about your situation.”The bakery produces bread for the donation program “at cost or near cost,” Mr. Teodoro said.But the “giving” effort also has helped increased store purchases, he said.“Our average sale has tripled,” Mr. Teodoro said. “We know — just anecdotally — that a lot of people are buying stuff from us, not just out of need but out of a desire to see us continue to operate.“They’re saying, ‘I’m here to buy a bunch of stuff to make sure you guys stay in business, to make sure your doors are open when this is over’.”Great Harvest, which opened in 2010, employs about 25 people.The coronavirus put the business and their jobs in jeopardy, Mr. Teodoro said.But the anonymous donor who paid him $700 to bake bread for the Fauquier Community Food Bank changed that.“She really started something that has just really saved our business,” Mr. Teodoro said. “And not only saved our business but made us an integral part of the food-safety network in our community.”Contactator 540-270-0300.