Welcome to On The Rise Bakery sponsored by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. This venture is unique in that it is being run by members of the ROPE (Reaching Our Potential Everyday) program.  These are men who have recently been released from prison or have completed a substance abuse treatment program and desire to truly change their lives.

With each purchase of our baked goods you are helping make possible the provision of supportive housing, training counseling services, educational opportunities, and self help programs.  It is a program where each man is responsible to reach back and support the newest member. This social entrepreneurship would not have been possible without the tremendous support of so many churches and individuals in the metro Detroit area.

This is truly a story of what can happen when a community dreams of the impossible and believes in it.  Miracles still happen!

Br. Ray Stadmeyer, ofm, cap

"On the Rise bakery opens..."
MARYLYNN G. HEWITT | THE MICHIGAN CATHOLIC. April 24, 2009. Three years after the
Capuchin Soup Kitchen started the ROPE baking program to help men who have been incarcerated or completed an addiction program, they will now open their own bakery.

"It's like I'm in a dream world"
Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press. January 19, 2009. Detroiter and "On the Rise Bakery" staff member took a long path to Washington D.C. to attend the inauguration of President
Barack Obama.

Opportunities, Even Now
Mike Score, The Ann Arbor Chronicle. February 3, 2009. Mike Score writes about how some entrepreneurs and cooperatives in the region’s food sector are finding opportunities, even in a down economy.

On the Rise Bakery ready to roll
Stephen Bitsoli, The Macomb Daily. April 20, 2009. The Macomb Daily covers the Grand Opening of On the Rise Bakery.

Bakery serves up fresh start... View slide show gallery on NachoFoto
Aaron-Carson-of-Detr-4ce28548f194

On the Rise Bakery is sponsored by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit, Michigan. The Capuchin Soup Kitchen is a human service organization of caring and loving people inspired by the spirit of St. Francis and sponsored by the Capuchins of the Province of St. Joseph and concerned benefactors.

The Capuchin Soup Kitchen serves the poor who suffer from the lack of basic human needs: material needs, such as food, clothing, and household necessities; psychological needs, such as motivation, self-esteem, and rehabilitation; and social needs, such as support systems and meaningful relationships.

In order to serve as a positive healing force in the spirits and lives of needy individuals, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen strives to provide encouragement, direction and material assistance to promote growth and wholesome independence with respect and dignity.

R.O.P.E. - Reaching Our Potential Every Day

ROPE is the most recent ministry addition. ROPE was borne in 2006 as an opportunity to assist a group of CSK guests who had been either incarcerated or had completed an addiction program. ROPE's first business outreach has been a bakery named "On the Rise Bakery."

CAPUCHIN SOUP KITCHEN'S "ON THE RISE BAKERY" GIVES MEN A NEW LIFE

Detroit, MI (March 23, 2009) - The Capuchin Soup Kitchen's ROPE ministry (Reaching Our Potential Everyday) has opened its first business outreach, "On the Rise Bakery." The bakery is located 6110 McClellan, located near the intersection of Gratiot and I 94.

The bakery is staffed by seven men who have been incarcerated or who have
completed an addiction program. The goal of "On the Rise Bakery" is to have the participants learn a marketable skill while continuing to become men of greater integrity.

Volunteers are the heart of "On the Rise Bakery." Many volunteers (mostly from the suburbs) join the individuals and friars, baking, packaging, and readying the goods for the Sunday parish sales. The men explain that the volunteers are the most valuable asset of "On the Rise Bakery."

Ed Collins, Crew Leader and former prisoner, explains "We didn't have a lot of caring in our lives. We needed to process and understand healthy relationships. There is a lot of warmth and caring with the volunteers.  We have a real connection with these people. It rubs off being with the volunteers. We are seeing strong family values for the first time in
our lives."

Baker Lammie Rhodes, a recovering drug addict, adds, "Working with the volunteers has been a big part of my development. It's easy for me to withdraw. They won't let me. If they see me being quiet, they won't let me 'just be.' They've taken us all into their hearts. They know our backgrounds and they don't care."

Capuchin friar Ray Stadmeyer explains that the bakery is not about the process of baking but learning healthy relationships. "These guys have had tough lives. They have faced hard, hard struggles that are difficult for the average person to imagine. For most of these guys, this baking program is their first real opportunity to succeed."