Local entrepreneur creates a tasty and easy way to enjoy baking and giving back

LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- Local entrepreneur, Chris Wysong, is taking his lifelong passion for baking and turning it into something good for fellow bakers and those fighting hunger.

"I just woke up with a 3am thought: 'Hey, everything that you've been doing, you could just put it in a bucket and use that as a platform to help people,'" said Wysong, founder of Bucket of Bread LLC .

His idea was bread from childhood memories baking with his mother.

"Little boy me, growing up, she always had me in the kitchen. Whenever there was a charitable event or something was taking place, I'd always bake something, I was just comfortable in the kitchen."

Now he’s taking his passion and putting it into a bucket, creating an easy-bake novelty called Bucket of Bread.

"Nothing really exists that lets you get it in a container, form it in a container, store it in a container and use it that way," said Wysong.

"There's no preservatives, there's no fats, no oils, no added dyes. It's just the certified organic stuff that makes this wonderful."

His idea is simple. He takes certified organic dry ingredients including flour and yeast, places them into a bag, seals them and puts them into their individual buckets.

"I could make about a hundred of these a day, " said Wysong.

The next step is to add water to the bucket, let the dough rise and voila! You're ready to bake. Wysong even has simple recipes on his website to follow.

"I do help give people something easier and hopefully inspire them to make something of their own, get creative in the kitchen and just have fun," said Wysong

Now that he's making a little dough, he's giving back and donating a portion of the proceeds to non-profits that fight food insecurity.

"Getting food to people, we shouldn't have this problem, so giving back is an important piece. If I have a business, I want to be able to do that and by tying this food-based product to that, I think it just matches very well," said Wysong.

He encourages people to buy a tax-deductible bucket of bread to donate to a local food bank. 10% of the profits go towards local charities like the Hunger Task Force.

"Hey, the bigger I can just make this beyond myself is the bigger impact it can have on somebody that is less fortunate," said Wysong.

Chris and his ‘Bucket of Bread’ will appear on "Project Pitch It" on CBS later this month. "Project Pitch It" is a Wisconsin-based competition that gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to sell their ideas in exchange for mentorship and funding. For Wysong, it goes beyond that.

"Hopefully it's inspiring others to take that idea and go with it," said Wysong.

Wysong says the real challenge is convincing the everyday Betty Crockers to put their dough into his.

"Finding those people that are baking at home already and convincing them that this is the next best thing since sliced bread," said Wysong.

Catch Chris Wysong on the show "Project Pitch It" on CBS Saturday, May 25 at 11:00 a.m.

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