Punk Bakers – Bread & Action

Ma Bakers opened in 1966 and has been busy doing its thing ever since: serving its community with fresh bread, cakes, and sandwiches.

I have a soft-spot for bakers and baking; at around the time Sam Barriscale was taking over the business from his mum, I spent a night in an Italian bakery.

It was a favourite project, one I’ve transposed onto other subjects, and one that became a baseline for much of my work since.

Daily Bread

Bread is everywhere, is consumed by most of us, and has been a part of our lives as a species for as long as 30,000 years. 

I’m as guilty as the next when it comes to taking it for granted. Its very ubiquity renders it normal and mundane. That’s until a pandemic makes shopping hard or complicated. Until hoarding makes it hard to find. Until yeast is in short supply, and flour becomes elusive.

Then suddenly bread comes to the fore.

Much Kneaded

Alongside making something that people need, Sam has become an activist, managing to galvanise a remarkable community response to the pandemic.

He pledged a portion of the support funds the bakery received during the pandemic to sourcing PPE for local hospitals and care-homes. Then he convinced another 70 businesses to join him. He was putting his money, bread, where his mouth was.

At a time when people and companies are ensuring their social media is inoffensive, middle of the road, and designed to maximise business, Sam not only told people what he thought, he acted accordingly.

Paying it Forward

Flour’s hard to find? I’ll deliver it. Your free school meals have been defunded over half-term? Come here and eat for nothing.

His support of the Marcus Rashford campaign drew so much support that he set up a ‘Just Giving’ page. This was so successful that by the time of the Government U-Turn they had enough money left to supply the Worcester food bank with bread until  February.

Sam is in early to bake and then out to do deliveries. Andy comes in later to get baking and Justine and Khloe come in to slice the bread, serve and make the sandwiches. Alongside the shop, they’re keeping up with wholesale orders, helping other businesses run smoothly during this difficult time.

The cafe part of the business is closed for now, but there’s still a small rush in the morning. People call in for bread and coffee, the pulled pork’s gone by lunchtime, and the walk home from school wouldn’t be the same without a doughnut or a cream-cake.

The bakery might not be as busy as it was, but it’s doing what it’s done for 54 years, which is serve the community.