Photo: WBZ NewsRadio / Kim Tunnicliffe
QUINCY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Do you ever long for a tasty gingerbread treat, but the holiday season is months away? Beth Veneto had the same thought when she opened Ginger Betty's Bakery in 1995 in North Quincy.
"And then I thought if I could share the magic of Christmas all year long how fun is that," Veneto told WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe.
Ginger Betty's Bakery sells cookies, pastries, cakes, and gingerbread houses. Veneto also makes gingerbread people look-alikes, such as presidents and prominent athletes.
Veneto's favorite cookie was a gingerbread honoring Boston Marathon bombing victim Martin Richard.
"It was an edible board game, 'Team Up for Peace'... so I did the finish line," she said looking back on her creation.
Read More: Boston Police Harbor Patrol Help Stranded Groom Get To His Wedding
Veneto represented Massachusetts in the second annual 'Made in America' event at the White House in 2018.
"We've brought a big ginger betty of course, we did a ginger Donald, he was a president. We brought a John Quincy Adams [and] we brought a Tom Brady," Veneto said.
In 2007, she started the G.I. Ginger Betty Foundation, a non-profit that ships boxes full of gingersnap cookies, candy, and thank you letters to military bases in the United States and overseas in Africa, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The foundation has also sent boxes to ships in the middle of the ocean. Beth has shipped more than 590 boxes since she started the foundation.
While the sweet treats are available year-round at Ginger Betty's, around Christmas is Veneto's busy season, "we call it gingerbread lockdown," she said.
Veneto started making gingerbread at around 7-years-old. She continued her passion for baking throughout college, making gingerbread houses for her friends, local country club members, and selling them at Mister Donut where she worked.
In the future, Veneto hopes to turn Ginger Betty's Bakery into a franchise to continue spreading her love of gingerbread and kindness.
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (KimWBZ) reports:
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App