By Kate Hindin

Daniellan Louie, the young and enthusiastic owner of Ivy Bakery in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is one of the Food Bank’s sweetest supporters! Since last fall, she made and sold Go Orange cookies for our annual NYC Goes Orange campaign; hand-piped an additional 150 cookies to include in our Go Orange Appreciation Event gift bags; and participated in Time Out For Hunger!!

With a talent for baking, and a sweet spot for the Food Bank, Daniellan tells me a little about herself, her baking and why supporting local charities is so important to her.

Q: Why did you get involved with the Food Bank?
I've always wanted to help people but never felt I had the means to do so. When I opened my own business I knew one of my top priorities was to get involved in local causes and help in any way possible.

I grew up in the projects in lower Manhattan and I recall trips with my grandmother and aunt to the food pantry. Everyone would line up with their push carts and walk into a small room where we were given an assortment of canned and dried foods, sometimes cheese and cereals. There were times when I went with my aunt to apply for food stamps; she wasn’t entirely fluent in English, so I had to translate for her. I didn't really think about it then, but I'm glad there were places that would help us, and now it is very important for me to give back.

This holiday season I decided it was time I chose a charity to work with exclusively. After some research I realized it was right in front of me! What is the one thing that is most important to me and the reason I started Ivy Bakery to begin with? FOOD! I love food, and I love helping feed people even more! I love making people happy and nourished with what I create. I chose the Food Bank For New York City because no one should go without food or go hungry any time of the year.

Q: Your Go Orange cookies were a real hit! How long did it take you to make all of those?
It took two days to make all the cookies for the gift bags. On the first day I made all the dough for the sugar cookies, rolled, cut and baked them up. I made royal icing and piped all the cookies orange and let them dry overnight. On the second day, I wrote "Go Orange," let them dry and packaged them in cute bags with orange ribbon.

Check out part 2 of this interview!