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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRespress turned to Facebook with this heartfelt plea in September 2024: \u201cI am not the type of person to ask for handouts because I truly feel there is always someone else more in need than I am. I\u2019d rather work and earn the money I have. This has taken a lot for me to post, so please give me grace. I\u2019ve been at the same apartment for almost four years and have maintained my rent on my own for the most part. I work hard, and I do what needs to be done in order to provide for my children, but here is my situation…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She went on to describe a series of trials that had left her with a lapse of income until she received her first paycheck from the hospital, where she had just landed her dream job. Though she needed $1,500 \u2014 an amount that felt unattainable \u2014 she preheated her oven, rolled up her sleeves, and set to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, that\u2019s a lot of money,\u201d she wrote in the post. \u201cHowever, to me, that is 108 traditional sourdough breads, or 93 of my specialty breads, and 75 dozen phatty cakes. All of these are doable if it means I can pay my rent and keep my children in a safe, stable environment. So, I\u2019m asking, will you place an order?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The memory of the lowest point in her life filtered through her mind as she baked into the early morning hours. The more she reflected on the words she\u2019d encouraged herself with all those years ago, the more powerful they became for her current situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was as if someone flipped a light switch when I chose to leave,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI told myself, \u2018You are very much going to do this. You\u2019re going to get out. You\u2019re going to be okay. You\u2019re going to go on and do great things.\u2019 I was no longer worried about how I would afford to leave; I just knew that if I took the first steps, everything would somehow work out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With lots of prayers and through the encouragement of both friends and strangers who connected with her on Facebook, not only did she sell enough to pay her rent, but she officially launched her business, Girl Gone Fermented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI sat at the dining room table and bawled my eyes out. Twenty minutes after I made the post, the orders started pouring in, and they haven\u2019t stopped. I am a firm believer that we should never sit in our sadness. We should feel it, experience it, and then get up and do something to change it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Girl Gone Fermented is now working to become a staple at local craft fairs and farmers markets, and she frequently sells her products in the parking lot of Tractor Supply, as well as online. Respress also provides sourdough starters to students who register for her affordable in-home lessons. Since the cultures in everyone\u2019s home are unique, this allows students to experiment with sourdough in the environment that will be nurturing their starter. GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mackenzie Respress \u201ckneaded\u201d a way to nurture herself during a turbulent time in her life, so she turned to the art of baking sourdough. As her confidence in the kitchen rose, along with her sourdough starter that she affectionately named \u201cSally,\u201d so did the requests for her freshly baked goodies. As a single mother raising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":23487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/01\/2-1024x683.png\")
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