Found on E. State Street is a local baker, Tim McKenna, whose business Athens Bread Company is creating a sustainable environment and helping Athens locals. In a world where someone can access amenities at the push of a button, McKenna provides a hands-on experience that is alluring for customers who crave a slower pace.
McKenna took over as owner of Athens Bread Company in 2021 and struggled at first to find a balance between the work and the art of the business. On their website, McKenna describes making bread as a “mix of art and science” to create a piece they can be happy with.
“What you’re trying to get is this understanding of an intuition when you have to follow the recipe and when you have to go off the recipe,” McKenna says. “I guess in this situation the recipe is the science, and the art is when to change things up. What it means is that hopefully every day the bread is coming out with this personal touch, not only because I physically touch every loaf when I shape it but also that there’s a human in the making of it, which is not the case with grocery store bread.”
It’s not just the bread that benefits from locally sourced ingredients but also people around the city are helped by Athens Bread Company. Partnering with corporations like United Campus Administrations, all excess food produced by Athens Bread Company is donated to a place where it can help those who suffer from food insecurity.
“I believe in feeding people and giving food to the hungry. In the food industry, there’s always that risk that you’re going to waste things so it’s an alignment of my values with good sense. Why throw something out if I can have someone eat it who needs it,” McKenna says.
Jamie Miller, a member of the UCM staff, hosts free meals on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the year. UCM has provided Athens with free meals to those in need since 1993 by collaborating with local businesses like Athens Bread Company.
“Athens Bread Company donates their half offs which are one day old, everything else they make fresh every day, and if it doesn’t sell the second day, they will freeze it for us, and I’ll stop by and pick it up. They are nice people and have a nice little atmosphere.,” Miller says.
One of the most important parts of what Athens Bread Company stands for is its heavy emphasis on sourcing locally because it creates authenticity. By buying from surrounding farmers, Athens Bread Company fosters a relationship between the town and nature. The bread itself being made entirely by people in Ohio with ingredients from the state creates a strong sense of community.
“We live in a world where food sources are threatened so it’s important to have those connections with farmers because you know where your food is coming from, and you can guard against some potential problems with food supply chains. It makes good business sense as well as being good for the area,” McKenna says. “Not to mention that when I buy Ohio flour there’s a connection to the land and it tastes different.”
McKenna and Miller share a common value for making sure food does not go to waste as UCM has partnered with a variety of organizations to make sure the food they prepare or get from Athens Bread Company is put to good use.
“We are really grateful to live in this community because there’s is a big emphasis on individual people helping out. We work on the same level as Athens Bread Company with the Village Bakery and Cafe, who donate some of the Saturday soups. It’s a great community to live in because we all agree that food insecurity hurts everyone,” Miller says.
Athens Bread Company is a great location not only to buy amazing food but also because of the way they conduct their business. Miller spoke further about the frustrations of food waste coming from large corporations who could be using that food to help others on a much larger scale.
“The biggest problem we have on our hands right now is that your Kroger’s or Walmart’s will throw away perfectly good food just because it’s not pretty enough. We can’t get a relationship with Kroger or Walmart because they are corporate entities that don’t want to give away food like that,” Miller says.
In Athens, there is a great network of food places that work together to prevent food insecurity and make sure food is not squandered, and that is in large part due to places like Athens Bread Company who conducts its business in an environmentally conscious manner that prevents unnecessary waste. McKenna creates batches of bread every day baked with pride in both the work and the town they are made in.