One of the homemade bread making kits prepared by Janet Mager and her husband Klaus Mager for those in need around Central Oregon.

As people started losing their jobs and struggled to afford food during the COVID-19 pandemic, a retired Bend couple found a way to give back. Klaus and Janet Mager created Breaking Bread for All, a project that donates homemade bread-making kits to those in need or those who want to learn to bake while in quarantine.

The Magers started making homemade bread in March and shared it with friends and neighbors, as they were all under the stay-at-home order to combat the spread of the virus.

The idea quickly grew. With the help of a few volunteers, the Magers have sent out more than 3,000 bread-making kits over the past two months.

Each kit has enough flour and yeast to make three loaves of a European-style artisan bread.

“That is how it evolved,” Janet Mager said.

“We thought maybe there are more people who would really like to do this.”

The kits are free and available to anybody who asks, the Magers said. People can contact them through the project’s website, www.breakingbreadforall.com, and pick up the kits at the Magers’ home.

Janet Mager said the project has helped a variety of people, from retirees who have never baked bread before to young families who use the kits as a fun activity with their children.

“People are at home, and they’re trying to figure out what to do,” Janet Mager said. “It’s a great form of teaching.”

The Magers both have backgrounds in the culinary arts. Klaus Mager, 70, is a fourth-generation chef who worked as the director of food services for Disney. Janet Mager, 65, who grew up on a 400-acre farm in Salem, owned a German-style restaurant and directed a culinary institute in Portland.

“We have always been passionate about food and health,” Janet Mager said.

The Magers have spent about $3,000 over the past three months to make the bread kits. They have also relied on donations of flour and yeast.

But as the project continues to grow, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to fund. The Magers are asking for donations to keep it going. Donations can be made on the project’s website.

The Magers see their project as something that can help people year-round, long after the pandemic.

They have partnered with several organizations in Central Oregon, such as NeighborImpact, St. Vincent de Paul, Mountain Star Relief Nursery and other churches and food banks.

“Now, it’s a community program,” Janet Mager said. “This is our community joining hands.”

The Magers hope they

have inspired others to offer similar projects in their own towns.

“That’s what we would really like to see,” Janet Mager said. “People from around the country helping their own communities.”