The bakery’s relief effort is aimed at ensuring that displaced residents continue to have access to familiar foods during recovery
In response to recent wildfires that forced evacuations and displaced families across Los Angeles County, a Santa Monica bakery is offering deliveries and donating cookbooks to affected residents.
Sweet Laurel, a bakery located at 1013 Pico Blvd., has begun distributing complimentary replacement cookbooks to fire-impacted families and fulfilling pre-orders through a delivery program known as “Sweet Laurel Drops.” The bakery is also offering daily pickups and citywide delivery through Postmates and Uber Eats.
The business, co-founded by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas, specializes in baked goods free of gluten, grains, dairy, and refined sugar. It first opened as an online business and now operates a flagship store in Palisades Village.
According to a recent post from Palisades Village, the bakery’s relief effort is aimed at ensuring that displaced residents continue to have access to familiar foods during recovery. The post encouraged residents to support the initiative by ordering from the bakery or visiting its website for more details.
Sweet Laurel began as a personal project after Gallucci was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder. She adopted a restricted diet and later developed recipes that led to the bakery’s launch.
While the business was built around dietary restrictions, Gallucci has said that a majority of Sweet Laurel’s customers are not limited by health concerns but choose the bakery for its ingredient transparency.
No formal coordination with disaster relief agencies has been announced. The number of cookbook donations and deliveries made to displaced individuals has not been disclosed.
