For every cupcake Michael Platt bakes, he gives one away to the homeless. The baker from Bowie, Maryland, also uses his business to raise funds for local homeless shelters.
He’s been at it since 2017, which makes Platt new to the baking business, as well as to the spotlight: Recently featured by the Washington Post and Good Morning America, Platt is just 13 years old.
“I started baking with my grandmother when I was around 9 years old, and from then on I really enjoyed baking and knew I was passionate about ending hunger,” Platt said over the phone. “So I decided to do that in my business.”
Michaels Desserts, which skips the apostrophe as a reminder that the desserts aren’t just Michael’s, operates on a one-for-one business model based off Toms Shoes. You buy one cupcake; he gives one away.
So far, his mother says, he’s donated 1,400 meals with the money he has raised.
“He does the cupcake giveaways out of his sales, but he also does fundraising because that connects people to actual meals,” Danita Platt, his mom, said.
Platt sells more than six dozen cupcakes per month, as well as cookies and chef’s choice treats. Each month, Platt also comes out with a new “freedom fighter” cupcake, based off one of his heroes. For July, it was the Malala cupcake.
“It’s like an Indian take on a carrot cake,” he explained.
In his mission to help the hungry, Platt has partnered with Pathways to Housing DC, an organization that provides homes for the homeless. When Platt visited this month, he brought along three tiers of cupcakes for staff and clients.
Pathways operates with a housing-first model, which means it focuses on first finding people a place to live, then combining “that permanent housing with supportive treatment services in the areas of mental and physical health, substance abuse, education, and employment,” according to its website. Connecting people like Platt with those struggling in their own communities is part of that mission.
Donating cupcakes may seem like a small thing, but to Platt, it’s just a start.
“I know that a cupcake won’t end hunger,” the bio on Michael’s website reads, “but a tasty treat, when times are tough, can make life sweeter.”
—By Madeline Fry
