How Marin’s ‘Muffin Man’ got people baking to help the homeless

There’s a national day devoted to just about every type of food, so what sets National Muffin Day on Feb. 26 apart? And how did its co-founder, San Anselmo resident Jacob Kaufman, become known around the Bay Area as “the Muffin Man”?

“I’ve always loved to cook but had never baked,” says the tech attorney about the days before his muffin-making paved the way for what has become a homegrown philanthropic initiative that has drawn international attention.

Unlike most food holidays that are consumer-oriented, the goal of National Muffin Day is to give back and inspire as many people across the country as possible to bake muffins and distribute them to unhoused individuals or shelters. Taking it a step further, for each person who bakes and delivers, the organizers donate money to Project Homeless Connect in San Francisco and Family Promise, a national organization.

To date, the muffin-making endeavor has enlisted more than 2,000 volunteer bakers, or muffinteers, and raised more than $60,000, earning it media attention nationwide.

Ten years ago, when Kaufman, a Ross Elementary School, Redwood High School, Columbia University and UCLA graduate, was working at a law firm on Market Street in San Francisco, he would not have conceived of someday earning the nickname of a 19th-century British nursey rhyme. His uncle was making muffins and Kaufman was turned on to the simplicity of transforming a simple batter mix into a batch of delicious breakfast treats.

But living alone at the time, he found a dozen was 11 too many, so he decided to bag up the extra and spread the warmth and nourishment to homeless individuals he encountered on his walk to work. This became a weekly ritual.

In 2015, Kaufman partnered with friend Julia Levy, who was living in New York working in the nonprofit sector. The two decided to expand on the concept by establishing an official muffin baking and giving day. Eight years later, he classifies himself as the ceremonial figurehead while Levy manages National Muffin Day accounts on Substack and social media.

How can you participate? Bake a batch of muffins, solo or with a group, take an image and post it on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #givemuffins and deliver to individuals in need on the street or in a shelter. Each baker in the post earns a charitable contribution up to a designated level made by Kaufman, his father and his former law firm boss. That final figure is matched by his current employer.

Find additional details on how to make a difference with muffins at nationalmuffinday.org. For suggestions on where to drop off your muffins in Marin, email Kaufman at
jkauf3@yahoo.com.

RECIPE

Jacob the Muffin Man’s World-Famous Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups flour (Kaufman uses 50-50 mix of AP and whole wheat)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

3 brown, mushy bananas

Chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together all dry ingredients in a bowl. Bonus points if you sift the flour.

Mix together all wet ingredients in a larger bowl. Really mash the bananas.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Stir together the wet and dry ingredients, but use no more than 10 strokes. This is the single most important thing to know about muffinry — if you stir too much, it activates the gluten and makes the muffins too chewy. If the batter is a bit lumpy, that’s fine.

After you’ve stirred for six strokes, add in as many chocolate chips as you think will taste good.  Then, add some more.

Pour the batter into muffin cups. You should have 11 to 13 muffins, depending on how much you fill the cups. I say overfill them — everybody loves a good muffin top.

Bake for 18 to 25 minutes — it really depends on your oven. Test with a toothpick. It should come out dry, unless you happen to hit a melted chocolate chip.

Eat one for quality assurance, then give the rest to those in need.

Cheese fest

The California Artisan Cheese Festival returns to Sonoma County on March 24 to 26 for the 17th annual celebration of cheese, accompaniments and makers. A wide assortment of tours, seminars, demonstrations, tastings and gatherings are taking place at farms, tasting rooms and restaurants in Marin, Sonoma County and beyond.

Day 1 on March 24 is devoted to intimate farm and producer tours with tastings, lunch and for some, roundtrip transportation. Limited space remains for the tour of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. with stops at Achadinha Cheese Co. and Keller Estate winery in Petaluma (8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.); Nicasio Valley Cheese Co., Heidrun Meadery in Point Reyes Station and Marin French Cheese Co. in Petaluma (9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.); and Marin French Cheese Co. with Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. and Adobe Road winery in Petaluma (9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.).

Alternatively, venture further afield for creamery, brewery and winery tours in West Sacramento, Windsor and Sebastopol at the Barlow outdoor market, where there’s also a cheese crawl from 4 to 6 p.m. March 25 with stops for cheese, beer, wine and spirits at hosting purveyor ($25).

On Saturday, seminars and demonstrations by artisan cheese and wine pairing experts are held at wineries in Sonoma County. Choose among four options based on your interest in wine tasting, a multi-course lunch, a charcuterie-building workshop or chocolate and bocce. Tickets start at $75.

The weekend’s grand finale, the artisan cheese tasting and marketplace, is from noon to 4 p.m. March 26 at the Grace Pavilion at the Sonoma County Event Center at the Fairgrounds at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa. Meet the makers and discover, try and buy favorite cheeses, specialty accompaniments, wine, cider, beer and spirits from more than 100 producers. Tickets include live entertainment, an insulated cheese tote bag with ice pack and a festival wine glass ($65, $80 early entry at 11 a.m., $30 children).

Event tickets are sold separately ($25 to $175). Find the full schedule of events and purchase tickets at artisancheesefestival.com. The Artisan Cheese Festival donates more than $165,000 in grants to nonprofit partners that support local sustainable agriculture, including the California Artisan Cheese Guild.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with news and recommendations and follow on Instagram @therealdealmarin for more on local food and updates on the launch of The Real Deal Marin restaurant search guide.