WATSONVILLE—Freedom Bakery owner Anna Liu said her new line of cookies was inspired by her children.
Seeing her 9-, 12- and 15-year-olds dealing with school being closed due to the countywide shelter-in-place order is difficult, she said, and made her want to do something for the community.
“It made me sad, seeing how this whole thing has affected our family, especially my kids,” Liu said. “I realized that what we really needed was connection with people.”
The new shortbread cookies are decorated with special designs, including messages like “Shelter in Place,” “Social Distance” and “Wash Your Hands.” There are also some dedicated entirely to healthcare workers, reading “Thank You & Stay Healthy” and “Because of you, I am thankful we will piece back together.”
Liu’s family established Freedom Bakery in 1975, surviving everything from the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake to the financial crash of 2008. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the business has been running on a skeleton staff, with Liu and her husband, Paul Liu “dividing and conquering” daily duties.
“Things kind of changed overnight,” she said. “We had so many cancelations, we had to let people go temporarily… it’s been tough. But we’re doing whatever we can.”
Last week Freedom Bakery posted to Facebook about the new cookies. The response was immediate, with followers sharing the post with their own friends.
One of these people was Risa Schwartz, a teacher at Mar Vista Elementary School in Aptos. In a short period of time, Schwartz and her friends raised enough money for 1,000 cookies, with the intention to donate them to local hospitals.
On Thursday morning, 500 cookies were delivered to both Dominican and Watsonville hospitals for doctors, nurses and staff.
“It was amazing,” Liu said. “It all happened in a matter of weeks. We are so thankful.”
For Schwartz, who is currently working with her second-grade students remotely, this kind of gesture had long been on her mind.
“There is so much going on right now,” Schwartz said. “Hospitals are overwhelmed, small businesses are suffering. We wanted to help… to keep them afloat.”
Schwartz said she had help from friend Rachel Williams, who had connections to South County, in helping fund the cookies for Watsonville Community Hospital. Friends from Oregon and Tennessee also pitched in for the overall donation, which ended up totaling 20 boxes.
“No donation was too small,” Schwartz said. “Whether they donated $5 or $50, every bit helped us get here.”
Freedom Bakery is open with limited hours (Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.) during the shelter-in-place. The business has been shipping the new line of cookies to places as far away as New York.
“Everything happening right now… know that it will end. It’s going to be okay,” Liu said. “And we’ll be here when you’re ready to celebrate again.”
