Women in need are trained, employed at four locations, including Hillsborough
By Andrew Corselli, Staff Writer
If you have a sweet tooth in Hillsborough, there’s one place where it’s OK to get hooked. That’s because when you shop at Baker’s Treat, you’re supporting a good cause.
The bakery and eatery donates 100 percent of its profits to community programs that help women in early recovery from alcohol and substance abuse.
”We make enough money to keep the business going and then any profits we make we donate,” said Loralei Verba, general manager of Baker’s Treat.
Baker’s Treat celebrated its grand opening April 16 in The Shoppes at Wood’s Tavern at 415 Amwell Road.
Women are living in halfway houses need to have a job in order to afford to stay in the program, said Ms. Verba. Some of the women have committed offenses and find it tough to find employment, so Baker’s Treat steps in and prepares them for the next step in their lives, according to Ms. Verba.
”I employ them and we train them and when they leave they have experience in whatever department we put them in,” she said. “They go out and find jobs. One of (the women we helped) is a banquet manager of a country club in New Jersey. They just go and do their own lives after they graduate from rehab (which is usually over a year, but sometimes longer).”
Baker’s Treat also works with the drug court of Somerset County to keep the women out of prison and help them to become self-sufficient, according to Ms. Verba.
”We were donated the courthouse café in Somerset County because I was honored,” said Ms. Verba, who has been with Baker’s Treat for six years. “I was given an award for the most successful student of Somerset County Vocational-Technical School. They decided to donate me the cafeteria to help Baker’s Treat get more women off of social services in Somerset County.”
Baker’s Treat has four locations, with the others situated in Flemington, Somerville and Lambertville. The buildings in Flemington and Somerville serve as facilities for training the women in culinary arts, shipping, office management, customer sales and catalog sales. Baker’s Treat has 64 employees, 15 of whom are women recovering from addiction, Ms. Verba said.
”If they graduate and can’t find a job, we give them job placement here in the company in one of our locations,” she said.
Stanley and Nancy Baron founded the bakery in 1999. The name is word play on Baker Street, the residence of fictional character Sherlock Holmes, of whom Mr. Baron was a big fan. Mr. Baron decided to open the Hillsborough location last year before passing away. It was his wish to see the business grow to the township. A couple weeks before Christmas, his wish was fulfilled.
The Hillsborough location is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and closed on Mondays. Baker’s Treat specializes in everything from soups, sandwiches and salads to all kinds of desserts; to find out more about the store or its catering options, visit www.bakerstreat.org.

