Two eager patrons, right, place their orders during Saturday's "Great American Bake Sale" in Limerick with cashier and chief salesperson Kashmiera Cosenza

LIMERICK PA – Those who claim that nothing good ever comes from kids’ watching television need to meet Kashmiera Cosenza.

Kashmiera Cosenza

Cosenza, a smiling 9-year-old whose family lives in Schwenksville PA, said she was recently inspired by a television program about the Great American Bake Sale, a national fund-raising project that began in 2003 as a way to help feed hungry, at-risk children. A Washington DC non-profit group called Share Our Strength encourages volunteers to hold community bake sales as “a fun solution with a big impact on an unthinkable problem.”

The youngster liked what she heard, did some research, and applied to become a bake sale organizer. She convinced family members – primarily her mother, Jules, and several aunts – to do the baking. And on Saturday morning (May 5, 2012), she set up shop in a booth at the parking lot outside Limerick Bowl, 653 W. Ridge Pike, where a local yard sale was already planned.

Three tables covered in white cloth that flapped in the slight breeze were piled high with treats of all sorts. There were mutli-colored frosted cupcakes, a variety of cellophane wrapped cookies and brownies, and other handheld delectables that seemed a perfect match for the day’s target market: adults with money, searching for bargains, wandering from booth to booth, and in need of a sweet pick-me-up.

“Help feed hungry children,” Cosenza called out to passers-by in a strong voice, her mother by her side. She got their attention; the baked goods did the rest. By day’s end, Jules Cosenza reported, Kashmiera had sold $566 worth, all of it to be donated to Share Our Strength.

The non-profit reports the proceeds are used to help equip, supply, expand and promote sites nationwide that serve free and reduced-priced breakfast and lunch meals to children in need. It estimates more than 17 million children annually “cannot count on having enough nutritious food. That’s almost one in four kids in America today who struggle with hunger,” its website said.

Young Cosenza said Saturday she’s sure she helped make a difference in those statistics, and hopes to hold another bake sale sometime in the future. She even learned she needs to broaden her product line to include sugar-free baked goods, thanks to an older man who reminded her that “us people with white hair like something sweet too. We just can’t have sugar.”