Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Birthday cake kits teach important lesson in sharing

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The government shutdown turned into a learning experience for one family in Ozaukee County.

The Barrett kids had a lot of questions about SNAP benefits and what it meant for people who needed food.

Tia Barrett answered those questions and then came up with a plan to help.

That means Mila Barrett is stocking the shelves at the Ozaukee Food Alliance for the first time.

"Can you fit them all in there?" her mom asked, handing her eggs, sour cream and cheese.

Mila has watched her mom pitch in.

"She has always wanted to come and sort," Tia Barrett said.

And at 8 years old, Mila has to stretch to reach the back of the cooler.

"Fills my mama heart," Barrett said with a laugh.

This isn't the first time Mila has made an impact here, though.

"So, there's frosting, cakes, candles," she said, looking over the family's latest project.

In November, Tia and Mila donated 106 shelf-stable birthday cake kits.

"When we originally started, we bought enough soda to make 24 kits," Tia said of the kits, which use soda to replace the eggs and oil.

They had fun putting two together.

"And so, I put it out on my Facebook page, asking if anyone wanted to sponsor the other 22," she said.

That simple request took off.

"That was on Wednesday night. And by Friday morning, how many did we have sponsored?" she asked Mila.

"One-hundred and three," Mila said.

The two got to work, even including gluten-free cakes.

"It took four stores for me to get enough to be able to do all the kits that were sponsored," she said.

Kate Draeger is community outreach director for Ozaukee Food Alliance.

"When Tia had said she was going to be doing this, and posted on Facebook, I think she was thinking it was going to be a couple of them, maybe a few dozen," Draeger said.

The Ozaukee Food Alliance serves 150 families a week and has seen an uptick in need.

"It's a big choice to come here, and I think things like the birthday kits offer a little bit of warmth," Draeger said.

Barrett says it all started with a simple conversation with her kids.

"They had a lot of questions about the government shutdown and SNAP benefits and what it all was, what was happening," she said.

That turned into a learning experience.

"So, it's really important that you have food because that's one of the most important things you need to live," Mila explained.

"I think it's important for our young ones, our younger generations, to see just how impactful that is," Barrett said.

A chance to help others and make sure they have something to celebrate.

"Just the pure joy of knowing that she was providing a cake for somebody that was going to have a birthday coming up filled my heart more than anything," Barrett said.

Each kit cost $6.50 to sponsor. Tia says one grandmother sponsored eight of them-- one for each of her grandchildren. Tia and Mila put a note inside each one with the name of the person who sponsored it.

To learn more about the Ozaukee Food Alliance, click here. 

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].