This story was originally published by Jasper Greuel in Southeast Ohio Magazine on March 6, 2025.
ATHENS, Ohio — The Athens Bread Company has been delivering fresh handmade bread to the local community for over a decade while making it a goal to provide for those struggling with food insecurity.
The businesses support for sustainable food systems and charity are rooted in two classical cooking ideals: waste nothing and feed the hungry.
The business was established by Doug Wistendahl in 2014, running the business until his retirement in 2021. Tim McKenna, an Ohio University alumni,then took over as owner after Wistendahl’s retirement.
McKenna was already an experienced chef and baker by the time he became owner of the Athens Bread Company, having worked for the New York City butcher shop Hudson & Charles and in Brooklyn for Saraghina Bakery.
“I believe in feeding people and giving food to the hungry,” McKenna said. “In the food industry, there’s always that risk that you’re going to waste things so it’s an alignment of my values with good sense. Why throw something out if I can have someone eat it who needs it?”
To meet McKenna’s goal of supporting the community, the bakery partnered with United Campus Ministries to donate all excess food production to help local residents navigate food insecurity.
Jamie Miller, a member of the UCM staff, hosts free meals on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the year.
“Athens Bread Company donates their half-offs, which are one day old — everything else they make fresh every day, and if it doesn’t sell the second day, they will freeze it for us, and I’ll stop by and pick it up,” Miller said.
UCM partners with other local restaurants, such as the Village Bakery and Cafe, to reduce food waste and feed the hungry.
“We are really grateful to live in this community because there is a big emphasis on individual people helping out,” Miller said. “It’s a great community to live in because we all agree that food insecurity hurts everyone.”
McKenna said that they struggled at first to find a balance between the work and the art of the baking. On Athens Bread Company’s website, McKenna describes making bread as a “mix of art and science” to create a piece they can be happy with.
“What you’re trying to get is this understanding of an intuition when you have to follow the recipe and when you have to go off the recipe,” McKenna said. “I guess in this situation the recipe is the science, and the art is when to change things up. What it means is that hopefully every day the bread is coming out with this personal touch, not only because I physically touch every loaf when I shape it but also that there’s a human in the making of it, which is not the case with grocery store bread.”
The Athens Bread Company places a heavy emphasis on sourcing local ingredients because it makes the food more authentic to this region. By buying from surrounding farmers, Athens Bread Company fosters a relationship between the town and nature. The bread itself being made entirely by people in Ohio with ingredients from the state creates a strong sense of community.
“We live in a world where food sources are threatened so it’s important to have those connections with farmers because you know where your food is coming from, and you can guard against some potential problems with food supply chains,” McKenna said. “It makes good business sense as well as being good for the area.”
