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By Jackie Dorey

Buttercups Bake Shoppe is the kind of business that makes a community feel more like a home. With dozens of freshly baked treats lining the counters and friendly faces behind them, you’ll feel instantly welcome when you walk through the doors. But it’s not just their sweets that make Buttercups stand out in Stewartsville, New Jersey. Through connections made with customers like our very own Angel Ed, founder Cara Anastasio spread Buttercups’ divine desserts to community members who aren’t able to make it through their doors.

What inspired you to open your own bakery?

When I was 16 I would bake just for the fun of it. No one really ever baked in my family, and I would make all the desserts. Then, I started working at a little dairy store where I sold my stuff. Everything I made would sell so fast that my father said I should open my own bakery. I was so scared, but my father said, "You’re doing it. This is happening."

So you were the first person in your family to get into baking?

I mean, my aunt bakes sometimes, but no one really did it a lot. No one ever taught me how to bake and I didn't go to school for it. I just taught myself.

What led you to start donating baked goods to nursing homes in the community?

When things don't sell, I don’t believe in just throwing them out if they're still good enough to eat. There are a lot of people who need food out there, so why not give it away?

How did you meet Ed Johns?

He started coming into the bakery and we always talked to him. One day he told us about TAFA, and asked if we would mind donating our leftovers at the end of the week. We split the donations between a nearby soup kitchen and the nursing homes that Ed visits. He's so nice. He'd been coming in a while even before we were donating things to him. He gave us some rhubarb that he grew.

When you first opened your business, did you plan to give back to the community in such a "sweet" way?

Not really. I had no idea how much product I was going to have, and we didn't have nearly as much at the beginning as we do now. Before, I just gave them away to people who work here or next door. But I'd rather give them to people in need.

What's your favorite thing that you bake?

By Mehnaz Ladha

Loneliness is sweeping the nation as the modern lifestyle makes us more isolated from friends and family. According to a recent study published in the journal, Perspectives on Psychological Science, loneliness increase mortality risk by 26%.

Media outlets throughout the world especially in the UK reported on the new findings. But why is this study from Brigham Young University receiving so much news coverage? It’s because the findings of this study suggest that loneliness is on its way to becoming the next public health issue. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Associate Professor Holt-Lunstad commented saying that “the effect is comparable to obesity, something that public health takes very seriously…we need to start taking our social relationships more seriously.”

Unlike our ancestors, we are living a life of isolation, relying on social technology to unite us with our extended friends and family. The lack of face-to-face interaction results in superficial and less rewarding relationships. As social creatures, we have the natural instinct to stay connected with each other. Although social networks like Facebook help us maintain contact with friends and family who live far away, they do not provide us with the physical connection that we crave.

It is commonly known that loneliness affects elderly people because of decreased mobility and loss of friends and family, yet society forgets that this epidemic affects people of all ages. Being surrounded by people does not imply that we are not lonely; it is not about the quantity but quality of the relationships we have.

By Jackie Dorey

Last year I overcame a fear common to many people from New Jersey: smiling at strangers. Living in this less than hospitable state my entire life, I had been conditioned to believe that acknowledging strangers was creepy and unnecessary.  In high school, I shuffled through crowded hallways and lunch lines with my head down, dodging unnecessary eye contact. During my first year of college, I carried myself around campus in a similarly withdrawn manner, only noticing others if I was noticed first. Although I spent about twenty-five hours per week at Montclair State, I treated the environment as mostly a passing blur in my day.  

Walking through the student center one day, a flyer advertising the MSU Smile Station’s “Compassion Coffeehouse” caught my eye. Instead of heading home from another unremarkable day, I pushed myself to go. A few hours later I walked into Café Diem where there was a crowd gathered around a student reading their poetry. As I walked over, I was welcomed warmly. People smiled and gestured for me to sit down in an empty seat. Every performer was put at ease by the audience’s encouraging presence. After several more performances the crowd began to disperse, and I was about to leave when one of the girls hosting the coffeehouse approached me. She smiled, gave me a hug, and thanked me for coming. Expecting to dip out of the café without a word, I was mildly shocked by her kindness.

After that night, I experimented with opening up in similar ways. While I didn’t embrace everyone that crossed my path, I took smaller steps. Instead of fiddling with my phone as I passed someone on the sidewalk, I held my head up and smiled. To my surprise, they smiled back. At Dunkin Donuts, I made sure to sincerely thank the person who took my order. Appreciation showed in their eyes. I even started giving my mom more hugs.