This website is best viewed in browsers such as: Edge, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari. We encourage you to use one of these browsers for the best experience.
Skip to content
Northrop Grumman Corporation Logo
  • Who We Are
    • Company Leadership
    • Defining Possible
    • Global Presence
    • Investors
    • News
    • Suppliers
    • Sustainability
  • What We Do
    • Air
    • Cyber
    • Land
    • Sea
    • Space
  • Careers
    • Students and Entry Level
    • Experienced Professionals
    • Veterans
    • Search Jobs by Location
    • Life at Northrop Grumman
    • Current Employees

Related Stories

  • Yellow forklift in large warehouse

    Suppliers See the Impact of Northrop Grumman’s Support

    Northrop Grumman’s ability to expedite funding to its supply base has proved critical, especially to small businesses....

  • 3-D Printed visors

    3-D Printing for a Cause

    It all started when members of Northrop Grumman’s FabLabs began recognizing a standout need within their own communities...

  • three men working on spacecraft

    Supporting Our Suppliers

    What can an essential business do to support an ecosystem of thousands of suppliers across 50 states and 51 countries...

  • White House on sunny day

    Accepting the White House AI Challenge

    Calling on high-tech companies across the country to step up in this time of crisis, the White House issued a special Artificial Intelligence Challenge......

  • White female wearing mask working in a manufacturing environment.

    Answering the Call, Together

    Northrop Grumman and our employees continue to perform and deliver for our customers, so they can protect national security and our way of life....

  • Read More Outreach Stories

    ....

Sweet Treat Turns into Sweet Surprise for Local Food Bank

Female holding large mixing bowl, pouring icing on top of huge cinnamon roll.
Whitney pours delicious icing on top of a huge cinnamon roll in preparation to donate proceeds from its sale to local food banks.

After spending a week at home because of the coronavirus crisis, Whitney Rutz, a Northrop Grumman employee based in Portland, Oregon, decided to bake herself a giant cinnamon roll to cheer herself up. She posted it to social media and was pleasantly surprised when people responded asking for a roll for themselves.

Whitney decided to make more and auction them off, with the money going to the Oregon Food Bank. The first one sold for $300.

“When I started, I said, ‘I’m going to do this every weekend until the crisis ends,’” said Whitney, a senior functional analyst with the company.

The recipe for success in supporting the community

The rolls are huge — 14 inches wide and six inches tall. Each one takes nearly four hours to make. Originally, Whitney’s plan was to make four each weekend, with the hope of raising $2,000.

That quickly changed as the rolls grew in popularity. Whitney has teamed with the food bank to set up a special website to raise money. For every $500 donated to the Oregon Food Bank, she makes a giant cinnamon roll and delivers it to Portland area health care workers and first responders. Whitney gets help baking the rolls from her seven-year-old daughter Elsa. They’re now averaging seven cinnamon rolls each weekend. To date, she’s raised more than $15,000 for the food bank.

Supporting the food bank was an easy choice for Whitney. She tried to think of the best charity with the biggest impact — and for her, the food bank was obvious because so many people need resources to eat.

Transitioning from a Self-Pick-Me-Up to Helping Others

“I am fortunate to still be employed, so it’s the least I can do to help in some small way to ensure people can be fed during this crisis,” she said. “Food banks all across the country are seeing unprecedented numbers of people coming to them for food. What started as a self-pick-me-up turned into an amazing way to support my local food bank and healthcare workers and first responders in my community.”

April 27, 2020

Related Stories

  • Yellow forklift in large warehouse

    Suppliers See the Impact of Northrop Grumman’s Support

    Northrop Grumman’s ability to expedite funding to its supply base has proved critical, especially to small businesses....

  • 3-D Printed visors

    3-D Printing for a Cause

    It all started when members of Northrop Grumman’s FabLabs began recognizing a standout need within their own communities...

  • three men working on spacecraft

    Supporting Our Suppliers

    What can an essential business do to support an ecosystem of thousands of suppliers across 50 states and 51 countries...

  • White House on sunny day

    Accepting the White House AI Challenge

    Calling on high-tech companies across the country to step up in this time of crisis, the White House issued a special Artificial Intelligence Challenge......

  • White female wearing mask working in a manufacturing environment.

    Answering the Call, Together

    Northrop Grumman and our employees continue to perform and deliver for our customers, so they can protect national security and our way of life....

  • Read More Outreach Stories

    ....

Stay Connected

  • Facebook LogoFacebook - Northrop Grumman
  • Instagram LogoInstagram - @NorthropGrumman
  • LinkedIn LogoLinkedIn - Northrop Grumman Corporation
  • Twitter LogoTwitter - @NGCNews | @NorthropGrumman
  • YouTube LogoYouTube - Northrop Grumman Media

Recent Posts

  • Three astronauts standing in a line

    From Outer Space to Northrop Grumman

    Learn More
  • male smiling

    Finding More

    Learn More
  • headshot of hispanic male

    Si Se Puede

    Learn More

Navigation

  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • Careers
  • Corporate Responsibility
  • Investors
  • Suppliers
  • News
Northrop Grumman Logo
Back To Top Button A button that allows users to scroll back to the top of the web page.
  • Privacy Notice
  • Manage Cookie Preferences
  • Terms of Use
  • EEO
  • Corporate Governance
  • Workplace Accommodations
  • E-Verify
  • Suppliers
  • Contact Us

 High:  Low:  Current:



© 2023 Northrop Grumman. The Northrop Grumman name and logos are registered trademarks of Northrop Grumman.