Compassionate Crumbs

07/30/2023

Finally - a true update for my true followers.

First, I want to thank each and every one of you for your messages of love, support, compassion, and grace. It truly means the world to know that I have made a difference in our community, and I miss seeing all the smiling faces on Saturday mornings.

Now, on to the update.

Unfortunately the saying “No news is good news” does not apply to my life.

After many, many appointments and specialist referrals, we are no closer to determining the core root of the health issues. With that being said, we have determined that regardless of the big picture underlying disease(s), my right hand/wrist/arm is currently experiencing severe neuropathy, moderate muscle damage, and severe carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome. Our path to surgery has begun, and I expect to go under the knife in October to at least treat the carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome. I have a WONDERFUL team of specialists who are listening, trying new and different therapies, and generally thinking outside the box, and I know that I am in good hands. Best case scenario - the surgery fixes everything in my right arm. Worst case scenario - I don’t have carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome anymore, but we need to keep searching for answers. With this news comes a new brace that will allow me to do some cookie baking without fear of irritating the situation more. Yay!

When last we spoke, a medical issue was the only thing standing in my way of being at the market. I truly believed that I would be back by the end of July. I did not foresee a careless error by an HVAC company* at my home that would result in the loss of the entire stock of all my dry ingredients, chocolate, sprinkles, and food coloring. For the last several weeks, I have cataloged the entirety of my inventory for loss. Tens of thousands of dollars literally in the garbage, due to high heat and humidity for several days on end over a holiday weekend and beyond. Did you know factory sealed corn syrup will turn brown if held above 85 degrees for multiple days? Yea, I didn’t either. Did you know sprinkles will turn into one giant mass if they are in that heat and the humidity is over 65%? Now you know! At this moment, even if I were physically able to be at the market next week, I have no ingredients to make anything, and until the insurance is completed and approved, I am not going to bring in anything that I can’t contain in one Rubbermaid container.

So, where does this lead us now? I’ll be honest - these last few months have taken a major toll on my emotional, mental, and financial health. I prepare all year for the Farmer’s Market season, and I truly LOVE being on that corner and interacting with you. I have missed that in a way I didn’t realize I would. While the Farmer’s Market staff have been absolutely AMAZING in working with me through this, I don’t know if I can physically handle a booth anymore, and I know that I cannot make the stock needed to make the market financially viable. So, we are going to scale it back to the bare bones for a bit - and I honestly couldn’t be more excited!

When I started Compassionate Crumbs, it was about one cookie and the idea that sometimes, a cookie is a gateway to show someone they aren’t alone. It’s a reason to stop by and say hi. It’s a token of gratitude. It’s the ultimate barrier breaker - a gift, a symbol, a gesture of love, a sign of community.

I can’t do much right now, but I can make my sugar cookies, and I can dip them in rainbow sprinkles or white icing, and I can use my machine to print on them - and that’s what I'm going to do. I can make 8 dozen cookies a week without much assistance, but I need to know that they will be purchased and consumed. Here is a link to a Sign-Up Genius to “claim” cookies - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904094FABAC28A3FE3-compassionate - I have 8 slots for a dozen cookies listed weekly beginning August 6th through December 17th. Take a look and sign up for a dozen if you would like. I will send a link for payment (each dozen is $25.00) or you can Venmo us at -schneider-8.

Want to participate, but don’t want to consume the calories? Simply choose the “Donate” option in the dropdown on the sign-up and we will gift the cookies you purchased to an organization or individual who will really enjoy them. We will even send you a note to let you know who received your goodies!

Thank you for sticking with me through this crazy time. I’m looking forward to posting all the fun cookies and creations, and hope to see you at the Farmer’s Market in the coming weeks, even if it’s just to shop and say “hi”!

As always, Love and Crumbs to you all,
-Michelle

*No, I will not disclose the HVAC company. I believe it was a perfect storm of a holiday weekend, lack of communication, and personnel/training issues. No need to make an unfortunate situation worse for those involved.

Thank you for spreading love and compassion one crumb at a time! Each dozen is $25.00. Each "Sign Up Slot" is 1 dozen cookies - for example, if you need 3 dozen cookies on August 22nd, you would sign up for 3 slots for 8/20/2023. Payment may be sent via Venmo to -schneider-8 or I can send a...

06/30/2023

I promised an update, and unfortunately it isn't the update I hoped to give. Appts last week went as expected, but more questions need to be answered before I am on the road to recovery. With that being said, that takes time.

I miss seeing you all each week at the market. I miss making treats and brightening your week. The time will come when that is a possibility again, but it may not be on the timeline we all want. I spoke with Hannah and Taylor at the market and I am on leave for the month of July. If I end up being able to be there before August, you will be the first to know!

As a side note, I am still able to fulfill orders for printed Signature Sugar Cookies, which are $25/dozen - I just request a week's notice.

For those of you who purchased the Cake Jar Club Cards - if you would like a refund for your unused jars, I am happy to make that happen - just shoot me a message. The cards are still valid once I'm able to make jars again, but I do not want to inconvenience anyone or unintentionally hold your jars hostage.

As always, thank you for the love, support and prayers - and I hope to see you soon.

Love and Crumbs,
-Michelle

06/22/2023

It's dejavu - due to continued health issues, we will not be at the Bloomington Farmer's Market on Saturday. We hope to provide you with more information as we receive it (and I know I will at least have SOME information on Monday), but right now we are at a stand still until further notice.

I want you all to know that I do not take this decision lightly. This is the only form of income my family has, so being off for several weeks is not something that I do unless it is absolutely necessary. I am very blessed to have amazing family who make sure the kids and I are taken care of during this time, but I am anxiously awaiting the ability to have some sort of answers that I can share and a game plan of how we are going to either pick up where we left off or pivot to what we need to do next.

With that being said, I know that no matter what, when we pick up I will no longer be able to pipe cookies, cupcakes or cakes. Moving forward, we will only produce edible printed cookies, cake jars, Gooey Crumb Bars, Crispy Crumb Bars and cookies on a regular basis - with the usual fun bake we wanted to try out available as we can. You are still able to special order the items that we continue to do.

I plan to create a separate group for a "supply sale" of items I used for decorating. I will post when that group is up and going - which may be as early as next week.

Thank you for your continued understanding and prayers. I really appreciate them.

Love and Crumbs,
-Michelle

06/17/2023

Due to continued health issues, we will not be at the Bloomington Farmer's Market tomorrow. We hope to provide you with more information as we receive it, but right now we are at a stand still until further notice. Thank you for your continued understanding and prayers.

06/09/2023

Unfortunately I will not be at the Bloomington Farmer's Market tomorrow. I hope to be back next week. Thank you all for your understanding and prayers.

05/26/2023

Real talk time - these last few weeks have conquered my being. And honestly, the personal toll life is taking on me hasn't been pretty. I had already planned to be gone tomorrow to recharge my completely depleted batteries; and while I had coverage to be at the market tomorrow morning while I enjoy some time celebrating the end of school with my children, I just couldn't get the product made to make it worth their time to be there.

So, I'm asking for a little grace and moving the jar return to next Saturday. This will allow me the opportunity to reset the bakery, my family, and myself to our summer schedule and get our June market off to a great start.

Life isn't always pretty, and sometimes it's downright ugly. But, through compassion (and a few sweet treats), we will get through it together. And remember - you never know what silent struggle someone is going through. Be kind, be compassionate, and be genuine - sometimes that's all it takes to turn someone's frown upside down.

Love and Crumbs,
-Michelle

05/22/2023

We are spring cleaning this week, and we want to help you with yours as well!

Do you have empty cake jars sitting at home, cursed at every Saturday afternoon when you return home from the market knowing you forgot to bring them with you? Let's give you a little incentive to check that off your to do list and give you a jump start on your summer reset!

On Saturday, May 27th, empty jar return refund is getting a DOUBLE BONUS! Each jar you return will be worth $2.00 towards your purchase!! Have a dozen jars at home? That's $24.00 in credit!

Don't want to use it all in one trip? We now offer Jar Return Bonus Bucks cards and will keep track of your bucks for you so YOU choose when you use the bucks this season - save a little off each order or rack them up and splurge!

I know you are thinking, "But Michelle, you could go buy a case for less than $2 per jar!" And you would be right. But, we are trying so hard to reduce our waste and reward our amazing community of customers. This jar program also saves us on sticker label and other packaging costs, which is a win-win for everyone!

So grab your jars, throw them in your car RIGHT NOW, and we will see you on Saturday!

05/17/2023

Hello Uni-Poo! These beauties were special ordered for a very special almost 5 year old's Pre-K celebration! What a great way to celebrate!!!

You can find Dino- and Uni-Poo at our booth each week at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers' Market on Saturdays from 7:30am-Noon!

05/12/2023

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to design and print these for your event!

Your friends, family, volunteers and clients will love our Signature Sugar Cookies at your next event - and you will love how cost effective it is to make a huge impact with these sweet treats!

Custom Printed Signature Sugar Cookies are only $25 per dozen and include creation of a custom image if that is desired.

Want them individually wrapped? We offer a variety of packaging options to fit your needs.

Last minute planner? Most orders can be fulfilled with 72 hours notice!

Shoot us a FB message today for more details or to reserve you slot on our calendar today!

Compassionate Crumbs did such an amazing job on the cookies for our new space open house. We can’t thank you enough- they were a big hit!

05/12/2023

We are SO EXCITED about the newest cookie in our Gourmet Crumbs line-up! This one is straight out of Em's imagination and is fittingly named Em's Chocolate Feast. We took our Gourmet Crumb base and added in a dozen hand chopped MrBeast Feastables bars, then scooped them out and topped with Flaky Sea Salt.

Grab yours this weekend at Downtown Bloomington Farmers' Market on Saturday from 7:30am-noon! They are sure to go fast!

05/10/2023

Crispy Crumb Bars return to the Downtown Bloomington Farmers' Market this Saturday!

What is a Crispy Crumb Bar you ask? Think of it as an elevated Rice Krispy Treat that includes Rice Krispy Cereal (no generic here!), browned butter, our Signature Sugar Cookie crumbs, the tiniest, squishiest mini marshmallows and real vanilla. We call that our Not So Plain Jane. From there we add in special ingredients to make our Gourmet Crispy Crumb Bars.

Stay tuned to see what flavors will be available this Saturday from 7:30am-Noon on the square in Downtown Bloomington!