The temperature is dropping, retailers have begun displaying their Christmas items, and the amount of turkeys stocked in supermarkets is sky high. This all means one thing: The holiday season has taken over Tucson. Of course, no holiday season on campus would be complete without the yearly Student Union Memorial Center’s Holiday Bake Sale.
The SUMC bake sale began on Monday and is stationed on the ground floor of the SUMC food court right across from On Deck Deli, which is also running the event.
Students and faculty who desire a sweet treat for the holidays can preorder pies, breads and pastries for pickup between Monday and Wednesday, if placed 24 hours in advance.
Those not preordering can simply walk up to the table between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and purchase whatever they’d like. There are limited quantities of baked goods, however, so customers who haven’t preordered should plan on buying their treats earlier rather than later.
The SUMC Holiday Bake Sale isn’t just for the traditional pies and cookies, although they sell those, too. One look at the goodies on display allows people to see the variety the bake sale is offering: The tables are covered in everything from almond Danish strips to peach frangipane bars to zucchini bread. The bake sale obviously caters to various different palates.
“One of the best sellers is the jalapeno cheese bread,” said Manja Blackwood, the UA bakery supervisor. Blackwood has been working at the UA for almost 10 years and has contributed greatly to the growth and success of the bake sale. While On Deck Deli does the selling aspect, the production team in the bakery make all the products.
For several weeks, Blackwood and her six-person team have been getting ready for the sale, choosing which items to include on the menu, making small changes to old favorites and getting all the necessary ingredients. The actual baking didn’t begin until Sunday.
“Because of the freshness of everything, it takes a little bit of planning to have everything taken care of,” Blackwood said. “The planning usually takes longer than making the stuff.”
All of the goods sold are prepared the day before to ensure the products are fresh and of good quality. Students can pay for the baked goods using their meal plan, and the bake sale has even begun to attract those not affiliated with the UA.
“We get quite a lot of people from outside [the UA] and we get a lot of staff members,” said On Deck Deli manager Nancy Lopez. On Deck Deli also runs a similar bake sale right before the end of the first semester in preparation for the December holidays.
The convenience of the bake sale also tends to be a draw for students, especially those living in residence halls with limited access to kitchen equipment and a lack of time to bake. The products are packaged to be easily transportable so they can survive a ride home.
“If you go to class and you want to just pick something up to take over to your parents’ house, it’s homemade — it’s homemade at the university,” Blackwood said.
Order forms can be found online at the On Deck Deli’s page on the SUMC website.
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