From the counter, for the community.
Counterspace Bakery has spent years feeding Mid City Baton Rouge through disasters, pandemics, and ordinary days. The Foundation is the permanent structure for that work — community food security, scholarships for women in arts & entrepreneurship, and a fight to stay in the neighborhood that raised it.
The Counterspace Foundation is rooted on Government Street and built for the long haul — turning years of community work into permanent infrastructure for the neighbors who need it most.
“This idea was born out of years of volunteerism, fundraising, and seeing a consistent need to address food insecurity in our community.”
— Sarah Joy Hays
The Foundation is the permanent structure for the community work Sarah Joy has always done — disaster relief, pandemic feeding, community fridges. A bakery that closes to feed people should not be the exception. We are making it the model.
Every dollar stays close to home.
Stocking community fridges, preparing meals, and building a sustainable volunteer infrastructure — all rooted in the kitchen on Government Street. Your donation closes the bakery one day a week to make this the main event, not the side hustle.
Scholarships for women in Baton Rouge who are building something — a creative practice, a business, a future. Because opportunity should not depend on circumstance, and this neighborhood has always been full of women building things.
We are working to secure a permanent shared space for the bakery and the Foundation — staying rooted in the neighborhood that gave Counterspace its start, not getting priced out of it. Mid City is worth fighting for.
“This idea was born out of years of volunteerism, fundraising, and seeing a consistent need to address food insecurity in our community.”
Sarah Joy Hays has spent years raising and distributing over $200,000 in donations following natural disasters, feeding essential workers during the pandemic, and building a bakery on Government Street that has always done more than sell cookies. The Counterspace Foundation is the permanent structure for the community work she has always done — because a bakery that closes to feed people should not be the exception.
One day a week, every week.
Donate Today501(c)3 status pending — receipts available upon request.
Raise $10,000 to close the bakery one day per week for meal prep, volunteer coordination, and community fridge stocking.
Quietly, occasionally, only when there is something worth saying.