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Baked goods take students home

Photo by Jing Long

Heather's Goodies of Bellbrook, Ohio sold at MacCracken Market

By Katie Cattell, For The Miami Student

Students who are homesick for a taste of mom's freshly baked treats can now find it in Heather's Goodies, a local bakery based out of Bellbrook, Ohio.

Since January, Heather Geldbaugh, founder of Heather's Goodies, has been selling her assorted breads and jellies at Miami University's MacCracken Market. Geldbaugh said she bakes for kids who miss the taste of a home-cooked meal.

"I think one of the reasons why kids like my stuff is it's kind of like a taste of home," Geldbaugh said. "When they see my stuff, they're like 'Oh, my gosh, my mom used to make zucchini bread' or 'Banana nut bread reminds me of when I was a kid,' so I kind of feel like their mom in a way. My breads are just like a little taste of home, a little hug."

Geldbaugh also makes a variety of jellies, often creating fruit and jalapeno combinations that are both sweet and spicy. Some of her more popular flavors include cranberry-jalapeno, mango-jalapeno, strawberry-basil, and peach-jalapeno.

Geldbaugh plans to debut two new products, quinoa granola and cherry-jalapeno dark chocolates, at the annual Local Vendors Fest, which will be held 3-6 p.m. May 7 in front of MacCracken Market.

Toward the end of the year, food options in Oxford can begin to feel limited, especially for students who still live on campus. Sophomore Alana Hallett is one of the students who relies on homemade, locally-based products like Heather's Goodies when campus food starts to feel repetitive.

"You don't always have the time to bake, and if your parents cook a lot, that can be hard to get used to," Hallett said. "It's nice to have that comfort food that's actually been baked by a local woman. I like knowing that there are no preservatives and everything is natural. The care she puts into her products really shows in the taste and quality."

Hallett said she often goes to MacCracken Market to buy Heather's Goodies as a small treat to herself, her favorite product being the banana nut bread.

"It's just so much fresher than anything that gets made at Miami," said sophomore Haley Gooding. "It's such a unique treat that I can't get anywhere else and it makes me feel like my mom or grandma could have just made it for me."

Geldbaugh's business began in 2010, when a co-worker taught her how to make jalapeno glazes, after she had brought many of the peppers from her garden into work. Since then, she has sold her products at farmers markets, Christmas bazaars and college markets like the ones at Miami University and the University of Dayton.

Much of the inspiration for Geldbaugh's products comes from her own children, to whom she hopes to one day pass the business down. Geldbaugh often has her three daughters help her with the business, believing it will teach them about financial responsibility.

"It's really nice that they can see it from the ground up. They see every stop, not only with making the product, [but] you also have to

package the product, and sell the product," Geldbaugh said. "People just walk by unless you're out there saying 'Hey, would you like a sample?' They're getting all aspects of it and, luckily, all three of them seem to really like it."

Geldbaugh believes that the business has changed her life in more than one way. She passes the lessons she has learned from owning her own business down to her daughters.

"I always tell my girls, 'You girls are beautiful, independent girls, you can do whatever you want to do.' I never thought that I would be doing what I'm doing now, but here I am and I love it."