Dogs and children run around and play while a line forms in front of white folding tables. Each person selects a free pastry from the table, which includes cookies, cakes and scones.
On the first Sunday of every month, baker Sarah Mason hosts the North Loop Little Free Bakery event, offering free treats to anyone who stops by. The next event will be held April 5 at the Bruning Green Park in the North Loop neighborhood.
“It’s an environment where people are really nice to each other, and people will start talking in line, and it doesn’t feel weird if you’re there by yourself,” Mason said. “It’s very easy to start talking to people.”
Mason said she started the event last September after working on her baking skills, and ended up with a lot of leftover baked goods.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity to give away a lot of things I was making and still feel like I was learning and not wasting food,” Mason said. “Every month, I still make things that are new to me, and I’m still trying to push what I can do, but it’s become more of a community event than anything.”
The next Little Free Bakery falls on Mason’s birthday, where she plans to make different cakes, such as brown butter cornmeal and coconut cakes to celebrate. Sarah Patterson, a supply chain management and business honors junior, attended the bakery in February, choosing an almond butter cookie.
“I would definitely recommend anyone go there,” Patterson said. “It’s just a fun time. You just go and you get a free treat and you just get to talk to other people there.”
Mitchell Maddox, Mason’s boyfriend, helps set up events and said people donate things like plates, forks and coffee.
“There’s no reason for it other than just delight and joy and bringing people together and people wanting to give their time and energy and effort,” Maddox said. “The world could use a little bit more of that.”
Mason plans the menu a month ahead, including vegan and gluten-free options to ensure everyone can pick out a treat. Peyton Frank, Mason’s neighbor, said she likes the bakery because it gives her an opportunity to try something she wouldn’t usually pick out.
“I was kind of one of the last people, me and my mom, to show up and all she had left were the vegan and gluten free cookies that people didn’t seem to want,” Frank said. “We got them and it was some kind of peanut butter oatmeal cookie and it was just so incredible. The flavor was amazing. The texture was divine.”
Mason also hosts “Movie Taste-Alongs” at We Luv Video’s 25-seat theater, serving dishes featured in the movie she shares.
“Everyone’s just happy to be there, and there are pretty low expectations, which has been a lot of fun because I can be creative and kind of do whatever I want without worrying,” Mason said. “What I found is that people are usually interested and excited by the same things that I am.”
