There are a lot of whimsical food “holidays” celebrated in the United States. You’ve got National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day, held Jan. 14; National Caramel Popcorn Day, observed April 6; and National Cheese Pizza Day, on Sept. 5. But one is particularly sweet — and we’re not referring to sugar content.
National Muffin Day is a grassroots philanthropic movement that rallies volunteers to bake muffins for people experiencing homelessness. It was founded by Jacob Kaufman (aka the Muffin Man) and Julia Levy (the Muffin Lady), and since its inception in 2015, more than 25,000 muffins have been donated by nearly 3,000 “Muffinteers” in over 50 cities.
The celebration is held annually on the Sunday after the “official” version of the holiday (i.e. the one recognized by the National Day Calendar, which is otherwise unrelated). That puts it on Feb. 23 this year — though festivities aren’t limited to a 24-hour period. Interested bakers can join in anytime through March 2.
Jacob Kaufman and Julia Levy
Before we get to how to participate, here’s a little background. Over a decade ago, Kaufman stopped by his aunt’s and uncle’s house in San Francisco for a visit. His uncle was whipping up some muffins, and, despite having never really tried his hand at baking, Kaufman was struck by inspiration. The next day, he was pulling his own batch of apple cinnamon muffins out of his oven.
“I ate one and it was good, but what to do with the other 11?” Kaufman recounted to Nice News. The following morning, as he walked down Market Street, he realized he was passing a fair number of homeless people who were likely hungry — and he had his answer. He baked another batch the week after and handed those out, then continued week after week, trying out new flavors and upping the number to two dozen each bake day.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country in New York City, Julia Levy was running a blog where she shared stories of ordinary people giving back to their communities. “That’s when I learned about Jacob ‘The Muffin Man’ Kaufman,” Levy shared, adding: “I knew that I couldn’t just publish Jacob’s story, I had to participate in it. So, I called him back, and asked if we could create one day where we invited our friends, family, and strangers to bake together.”
To “sweeten the deal,” as Levy puts it, Kaufman decided to donate up to $10 to an aligned cause for every volunteer who got in on the baking that first year, and he’s continued to do so annually ever since.
“The muffin is a metaphor for kindness,” said Levy, and its impact is reflected both in those who give and those who receive. “For givers, the muffin builds community through baking parties while bringing awareness to neighbors around us — whether it’s people in need of food or shelter or local heroes like firefighters and police as Muffinteers have thoughtfully recognized recently.” Bakers can donate their muffins directly, by handing them out to unhoused neighbors, or indirectly, by dropping them off at a shelter or food kitchen.
“It’s an opportunity to safely interact with strangers with care rather than walking by on the street,” she explained. “For the receivers, it’s a nice and unexpected moment of care.”
And it’s the volunteers who inspire Kaufman and Levy to keep the tradition alive. In Baltimore, a Muffinteer named Dena introduced the duo to a group of teens who convene every year to bake muffins and meet with homeless community leaders; in Tampa, Muffinteer Lisa organizes professionals to bake with celebrity chefs Rosana Rivera and Ricardo Castro in a commercial kitchen. And over in Kentucky, a family participates in National Muffin Day as a way to stay connected to a late loved one, baking 500 muffins annually in her honor.
Notably, the holiday is a fitting opportunity to get kids involved in something fun while imparting the importance of giving back.
“We have Muffinteer families who tell us that their kids don’t know a world without National Muffin Day as a holiday, like Grant and Elizabeth in Rockville, Maryland, whose kids have grown up baking with us every year,” Kaufman shared. “Sara in Granger, Indiana, has made Muffin Day a way to talk about important issues like homelessness with her children and instill empathy.”
This year, for every Muffinteer who bakes and shares a public photo of their handiwork on social media with the hashtag #GiveMuffins, up to $10 will be donated to the California Community Foundation or Beloved Asheville.
Ready to get involved? A virtual baking party is taking place Sunday, Feb. 23, at 4 p.m. ET, which you can register for here. Otherwise, all you need to do is grab some ingredients, start baking, and decide how you’d like to donate (we recommend performing an online search for homeless shelters in your area and calling ahead to see if they accept donations).
Follow National Muffin Day on Instagram, Facebook, and X, and go to the official website to learn more about the movement.
Last but not least, we asked the Muffin Man himself to share his favorite basic recipe, and he delivered:
Classic Muffin Recipe
Dry Ingredients
2 cups flour
½-⅔ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
⅓ cup butter (melted and chilled to room temp)
1 egg
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Fold the dry into the wet and stir no more than 10 times – even if the batter is a little lumpy, that’s okay (if you make it too smooth, it will bake too dense).
After the sixth stir, add in berries, chocolate chips, chopped up fruit, or whatever you want! Once you’re done stirring, pour into muffin cups (it should make 12 decently sized muffins) and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out dry.
RELATED: The Nonprofit Spreading Kindness One Lasagna at a Time: “We Have the Power to Shift Communities”
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