In past years, National Muffin Day has been a day that we encouraged people to bake muffins and distribute them by hand to people in need in their cities.  This year, like everything else, National Muffin Day is different. It’s not safe to hand out muffins and most organizations are not accepting homemade food. We’ve had conversations with the experts at organizations focused on addressing homelessness and they have advised us to keep the spirit and vision strong with the kindness and community-related symbolism of the muffin. 

 1. Bake muffins! But, only at home with your household. Leave them for your neighbors or enjoy them on your own. You can join us for one or both of these options:

-Invite 1: You can set up online baking parties with your friends anytime this weekend! Bake together virtually and have a conversation about homelessness, food insecurity and housing and how you can help. We’ll be releasing a few discussion and activity guides.

 
-Invite 2: Join us for one big baking party at 1pm PST/4pm EST. Register for the Zoom link. We’ll accommodate as many guests as possible and stream the rest live on social media.

2. Donate to a Worthy Cause!  Instead of giving out muffins, we encourage Muffinteers to make a donation.

-Give whatever you are comfortable with or if you can, start by “giving a dozen” -- in $12 increments to symbolize the muffin tin!
-Give to a cause that benefits people experiencing homelessness. We have our suggestions of course and encourage you to do research to see how you can support local. 
Family Promise is an incredible organization that establishes projects benefiting unhoused and at-risk folks in different cities across the country. Project Homeless Connect provides a ton of necessary services for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. If you need help finding a cause, please reach out -- we know of a bunch. Jacob has been working with the Awesome Foundation: Homelessness chapter that is full of interesting and worthy causes.

3. Share on Social Media and We’ll Match by Muffinteers!  Post pictures of your muffins and virtual baking buddies publicly on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #givemuffins, or to our Facebook event, and also let us know about charities you are supporting!  

-For each person who bakes muffins and donates to a cause, Jacob will donate $5 each to Family Promise and Project Homeless Connect, with potential matching from family and employers. 
-If you’re willing to share, we’d like to measure our collective impact with the Muffin Meter! Feel free to submit via this Form to let us know where you’ve given. 
Over the past seven years, we’ve raised over $10,000 with more than 1,500 Muffinteers baking in 45+ cities.   

Why the Muffin? It’s a symbol of kindness and community. It’s about baking — an activity that takes time and is often for people you care about —  and replicating that for a stranger. Not just any stranger, but someone who is hungry in your city. It’s about stopping and noticing them on the street or finding where they may temporarily shelter — and making something for them (rather than just giving leftover food). A muffin won’t solve homelessness, we know that, but it will make more people aware of the needs in their community and to stop and treat them with kindness. This year, it’s symbolic due to Covid.

Clear your calendar - It's going down! You're invited to take part in the festivities. Come one, come all, bring a guest, and hang loose. This is going to be epic!