Our Story:

In 2019, Kim, from the city of Bridgeport, CT, and Betsy, from the suburbs of Fairfield, signed up to attend the amazing Connecticut Casting for Recovery Retreat.  The mission of this national nonprofit organization, Casting for Recovery (CfR), is to empower women in treatment or recovery from breast cancer through oncology-informed retreats. These retreats connect women to one another and to nature through the therapeutic sport of fly fishing.

The first chapter of our friendship began in 2019, on a crisp September morning, when Kim needed a ride to the retreat in West Cornwall, CT. Betsy offered to drive, and off we went...

Soon, that ride became the beginning of a lasting friendship rooted in shared hobbies and a desire to help others. Along the way, we bonded through laughter, compassion, faith, and encouragement.

And then life moved forward, as it does.

Until COVID slowed everything down long enough for us to look back and ask ourselves a simple question:

“What was it, really, that made that experience so meaningful?”

The answer came quickly. It wasn’t just the beautiful setting or the activities. It was the friendships and bonds we created with the participants and volunteers. That realization became the beginning of something new.  And that’s how the Friendship Chefs were born.

As a gift to Casting for Recovery, we created the Friendship Soup. We wanted to create a safe, welcoming, and comforting environment for participants who did not know one another, helping them connect and bond more quickly.

Food is a non-threatening language that we all understand. Through food, we can more easily open the doors to conversations that might otherwise never happen.

The major ingredients of our Friendship Soup are:

    •    Personal hobbies — something each participant enjoys and can share with others.

    •    A Friendship Word Rock — each participant chooses a word such as trust, respect, reliability, or kindness and talks about what that word means to them.

    •    Spices — words such as flexibility, nonjudgmental, and enjoyment that each person adds to give the soup their own special zest.

Because, just like a good soup, we are better when we come together.

Every ingredient matters.

Every person matters.

And friendships begin to form.

As we continued this work, we began thinking about how early these lessons could begin. That’s when the Friendship & Community Cupcakes came to life.

We wanted something playful and accessible for young children—something that could help them understand that friendships and communities are built. They are created one small ingredient at a time.

So we introduced ingredients such as kindness, belonging, cooperation, and community.

And in doing so, we hoped to help children discover something important early in life:

“You are part of something bigger than yourself—and you have something to contribute to it.”

Today, the FriendshipChefs continue to grow, and we are very excited to introduce our newest creation: the We the People American Democracy Apple Pie.

At a time when many Americans are deeply concerned about the health and future of our democracy, we are calling on all Americans—“We the People”—to help address this fundamental issue.

We truly believe that Americans love their country and that we can work together to save, strengthen, improve, and protect our beloved democracy.

We began looking at the United States as a whole and recognizing what so many people are feeling right now: we are deeply divided, and many of us are unsure how to talk to one another across those divides.

So the Friendship Chefs decided to create a collaborative activity in a respectful and safeguarded environment where “We the People” can come together to create a symbolic Democracy Apple Pie.

The crust of the pie represents We the People—the opening words of the U.S. Constitution and a powerful reminder that our government derives its authority from the people.

The people are the foundation of democracy.

The ingredients of the pie filling represent the qualities we need to strengthen our democracy:

    •    People Power Flour

    •    Unity Sugar

    •    Hopeful Cinnamon

    •    Vibrant, Encouraging Spices

    •    And, most importantly, Democracy Action Apple Slices

Each participant receives an apple slice and is asked:

“What action will you put on your apple slice to help save, improve, and protect our beloved democracy?”

The possibilities are endless. For example:

    •    Take someone to vote.

    •    Help someone register to vote.

    •    Write to your representatives.

    •    Attend a town meeting.

    •    Volunteer in civic organization or in your community.

    •    Peacefully protest.

    •    Listen to someone with whom you disagree.

To complete the pie, we add a lattice crust featuring the pillars of democracy, followed by the finishing touch: the We the People egg glaze.

And so, Americans, put on your chefs’ hats—there’s a lot of work to do!

America needs our attention, our voices, our participation, and our willingness to work together.

Our democracy depends on all of us showing up.

Yes, We the People have the power.

With Appreciation

The Friendship Chefs

Kim & Betsy

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*Just so you know on a personal note -

We are both metastasized breast cancer warriors. Over many years we have accumulated lots of armor SO we are definitely prepared , geared and pumped up to fight for and protect America‘s Democracy.

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