At 16, Jack Rogers was already a baker with a following. Thousands were tuning into his how-to videos and reading his posts on Instagram.
Fellow students at St. Andrew’s School wanted his cake for their birthday. Jack even did a TED Talk on discovering his passion for baking at an early age.
Then he volunteered at Feeding South Florida in Boynton Beach and had a rude awakening. The pandemic had greatly multiplied the need for food and thousands of children were going hungry.
“They gave a presentation on food insecurities,” he said. “I always wanted to figure out a way to use my passion to help others.”
So on May 1, he started Covid Cupcake Campaign, generating 100% of the proceeds raised. “My goal was to provide 10,000 meals. I’m pretty close. Now my new goal is 20,000 meals,” he said.
At 3 p.m. Saturdays, Jack opens the week’s orders on his web site https://www.jackedupcakes.com/
So far, he has accepted four orders for a dozen cupcakes at $50 per order. The customer chooses the flavor, frosting color and sprinkles. He sells, bakes and delivers the orders to the customers on Sundays. If they live too far away, he links donations directly to Feeding South Florida.
Finishing up his sophomore year, now he’ll have time to add a cake or two to his campaign until the coronavirus crisis is over, he said.
“He made four dozen cupcakes for Cleveland Clinic and that’s how this started,” said his mom Joanne Rogers. She and her husband Adam, Jack’s twin brother Dylan and his sister Morgan have followed his intricate baking since seventh grade. “As pretty as they are, they taste amazing,” she said.
By Marci Shatzman
