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I realize that Halloween has not even hit us yet, but (and you’ll have to forgive me) I’m already thinking about the holidays. I am absolutely infatuated with November and December. The food, the spices, the smells, the family…OMG! The egg nog! I love it all. Pardon me if I’m rushing through the end of October, but I’m thinking ahead to the superhuman amounts of food I plan on devouring over the next few months and it’s nearly enough to bring a tear of joy to my eye.

In all seriousness, the holidays are a particularly wonderful time to reflect on how fortunate you and yours have been throughout this year. While most of us will be ruminating for weeks on how many side dishes we’ll need to serve alongside our 25 pound turkey, there are many people in less fortunate circumstances in our community who worry if they’ll be able to put food on their plate at all.

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The Memphis-based company, Tender Loving Cake, is hoping to provide customers in the Little Rock area with an opportunity to enjoy something sweet for themselves as well as donate to those in need within the Little Rock community.

Operating primarily through their website tenderlovingcake.com, the small company sells two varieties of coffee cake: cinnamon pecan and sour cream blueberry. The customer is able to select and ship the coffee cakes to themselves or as gifts with a personal message included. Additionally, they operate under this premise: for every cake sold online, the bakery will donate a 35 oz pound cake to a food bank selected by the customer. When Tender Loving Cake launched last December they were only able to provide donations to the Mid South Food Bank of Memphis, but this year they have expanded to serve the Arkansas Food Bank, North Mississippi Food Network of Jackson, and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Buy one, give one…it’s like the TOMS shoes of cake.

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I sampled the cinnamon-pecan coffee cake recently and I’m happy to report that these guys put out a respectable product. I was skeptical that a cake delivered in the mail would reach my home intact and fresh, but I was pleased with the results and my fears were banished as soon as I took my first bite. The cake was endowed with a crusting of cinnamon and sugar, undoubtedly blended with butter, creating a dark, crumbling crown over the surface of the cake. The cinnamon-sugar mixture was also found streaming through the inside of the dense and surprisingly moist butter cake.

If you are looking for a way to give a little something to those in need this season, Tender Loving Cake is a fantastic opportunity, and the fact that you simultaneously get a delicious cake out if this makes the deal even sweeter. Check them out at tenderlovingcake.com for details.

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