International Community Bakeries

“Peace goes into the making of a poem as flour goes into the making of bread” – Pablo Neruda

The South African Whole Grain Bread Project, was developed by entrepreneurs Dan Leader of Bread Alone, retired Anesthesiologist, Neil Ratner, and his wife, Leann Ratner. Daniel Leader, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, has worked in the food service business for more than 30 years as a chef, food service manager, and bakery owner. The Ratners had a long history of lending their talents to the African continent. is dedicated to improving the physical health and social well-being of the poor, unemployed and HIV/AIDS infected citizens of South Africa by establishing community-run containerized micro bakeries which produce fresh, high quality, whole grain breads. read more

Eliminating Hunger, One Loaf at a Time

As the founder and owner of Bread Alone Bakery, I built my business to serve the local community. While Bread Alone was growing to its current size (we now produce 50,000 pounds of certified organic bread every week), I began to sell loaves at New York City green markets, about 100 miles away.

I was happy to donate to bread to local food banks and community organizations feeding New York City's homeless and hungry, but it never occured to me that I could apply my knowledge and experience to the problem of hunger on another continent. To anyone in a "local" or "artisan" food business who thinks that charity begins at home, have I got a story for you! read more