Category Archives: ZACHOR

It’s MoreThan Thanksgiving! Small Business Saturday

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Small Business SaturdayBlack Friday for many is synonymous with Thanksgiving.  It is far and away the biggest shopping day of the year.  But what some of you may not know is that the Saturday following Black Friday is Small Business Saturday.  Small Business Saturday is a day where people can show their support of and shop at local, independently owned business.  In previous years this day has resulted in day-long increased sales for local mom and pop shops, many of which offer special discounts.  Papa Ben’s Kitchen would appreciate your support of our small family business this Small Business Saturday November 30th, and to show our thanks we are offering an 18% discount on your order, simply enter promo code PUMPKIN.

Giving TuesdayNow that you’ve done your shopping for the holiday season it’s time to give back. Following Small Business Saturday is Giving Tuesday.  It is a day set aside, as of two years ago, to remind us to give back, be generous and volunteer our time and/or money to a charity or local cause.  Even though it is just a single day, our impact as whole could reverberate throughout the nation.  So join us in this movement and help make a difference as small as it may be. Papa Ben’s Kitchen gives back everyday by giving a portion of its profits to the Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation.  Help us keep the memory alive this Giving Tuesday by simply buying some of our delicious Mandelbroyt or by making a donation directly to this great cause. Visit their website for more information. www.ZachorFoundation.org

We made the Cover of Specialty Food Magazine!

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Specialty Food Magazine CoverWe are very excited to announce, and had to share, that Papa Ben and his daughter Gail Lesser-Gerber are on the cover of the November issue of Specialty Food Magazine – the only magazine dedicated to food and beverage.  In this article Specialty Food Magazine so eloquently tells its readers about Papa Ben’s Kitchen and its great cause behind these delicious cookies, remembrance. You see, our Mandelbroyt is more than a tasty dessert, each cookie is a testament to those who survived the Holocaust and a way of honoring those who did not.  In 2008 Papa Ben founded the Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation and began handing out commemorative pins with the Hebrew word Zachor (Remember) on it to students that attended Papa Ben’s talks.

The response was overwhelming.  And today we have given out more than 100,000 pins, hoping to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. The Zachor Foundation’s purpose is to ensure that people never forget the immense tragedy of the Holocaust and that is why we at Papa Ben’s Kitchen donate a percentage of our profits to this great organization. We are committed to making a difference in this world, one cookie at a time! Thank you Specialty Food Magazine for telling our story.

Living a Life That Matters

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All at once, Papa Ben makes us proud and humbles us.  He has dedicated his life to sharing his stories with all those willing to listen, most recently at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (LAMOTH).  This past Sunday, June 14th at LAMOTH Ben read passages from his book Living a Life That Matters: from Nazi Nightmare to American Dream. For those of you who do not know, Papa Ben is a Holocaust survivor.  And while most in his shoes would like to forget such memories, he willingly relives them each and every day by sharing his story to ensure that others will not forget.

Papa BenBen had a pretty normal childhood until he and his family were forced to go on the run and eventually into a Jewish ghetto. From there he was sent to concentration camps Auschwitz-Birkenau, Durnhau, Buchenwald, then Dachau and after what felt like a lifetime Ben was finally liberated from his nightmare.  He eventually traveled to New York City and later to Los Angeles.  He started as a driver for UPS and eventually became the successful entrepreneur we know today.

Years later he founded The Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust. And soon after that he unveiled his bakery line, Papa Ben’s Kitchen specializing in Mandelbroyt, an eastern European biscotti-like cookie that he fondly remembers learning how to bake with his father before the war.

Ben has taken his tragic past and transformed it in to something beautiful.  Through his speaking, his foundation and now his book he is teaching people the power of love.

“More than anything else, I understand the power of love to eliminate hate. The love of my parents, who were massacred by the Nazis, gave me the foundation that my life has been built on. My love for them and my brutally murdered sister and brothers fills my heart to this day. And in the horror of Hitler’s concentration camps, there was no way to even imagine that one day I would live to find my soul mate, my best friend and the love of my life, my wide of 63 years, Jean. For us to have been blessed with our two beautiful daughters and four amazing grandchildren plus the upcoming arrival of our first great-grandchild, is proof that love is stronger than hate.” –  Living a Life That Matters: from Nazi Nightmare to American Dream

To learn more about Ben, his history, his company Papa Ben’s Kitchen and the change he is dedicating himself to making, pick up a copy of his book here. You won’t regret it!