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9 high-profile CEOs who did positive things in 2015.

How often do stories about CEOs leave you with that warm and fuzzy, thank-God-for-them feeling?

If you're like me, you're probably already channeling a pissed-off Clark Griswold.

GIF from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Between the massive CEO-worker pay gap, the lack of accountability of many top executives, low employee engagement, and an obvious need for more companies to adopt sustainable practices, maybe our vitriol isn't so misplaced.

But is it fair to assume the worst of all of them?

2015 wasn't an entirely bad year for CEOs in the news.

From my goodness-seeking perch, I spotted a number of stories of business leaders making efforts small and large to do some good this year. Here are nine examples:

1. Aetna CEO acts on reports of employees on food stamps.

Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images.

Health care company Aetna is #49 on the Fortune 500. Last year, it logged over $2 billion in profits. But success wasn't "trickling down."

Employees in Aetna's call centers were so underpaid that they needed food stamps and Medicaid to get by. That's not fair, especially given that Aetna's financial position was in part bolstered by public investments through Obamacare.

Instead of fighting to keep workers poor and profits higher, CEO Mark Bertolini raised the company's minimum wage to $16 an hour, which benefited 5,700 employees.

2. Virgin CEO steps up for moms and dads.

Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images.

Having a kid should be a joyful time in parents' lives, but many quickly face the cruel reality of having to maintain an income to support their growing families. And parental leave policies vary widely throughout the world.

As a new shared parental leave law went into effect in the U.K., offering parents of newborn or adopted children a portion of their salary for up to one year, Virgin CEO Richard Branson decided to take it even further.

In his London and Geneva offices, he introduced a policy that moms and dads of newborns or adopted children can share a full year of parental leave at 100% pay.

3. Netflix CEO approves parent-friendly policy.

Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair.

Netflix's Reed Hastings approved a policy offering up to a year of fully paid parental leave. So should a "Netflix and chill" night lead to parenthood — or a decision to adopt, anyway — a lot of Netflix employees are resting assured the company has their backs.

"What we're trying to do is earn loyalty and trust — that they really care about Netflix, in addition to caring about their family," Hastings said at The New York Times' Dealbook conference.

Like the Virgin policy, Netflix's only covers a subset of the company. It applies to employees of their streaming division, not their DVD division, which is a bummer. But it's a start.

4. Patagonia CEO calls for "radical" environmentalism.


Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.

At the helm of outdoor clothing and equipment company Patagonia, Rose Marcario is continuing founder Yvon Chouinard's legacy of sustainable business practices and finding ways for the company to be even more eco-friendly — even at the expense of sales.

In addition to sending a portion of its sales to environmental causes, Patagonia set up the largest garment-repair operation in North America and offers customers home-repair tools and channels to donate or recycle their worn Patagonia gear.

The White House named Marcario a "Champion of Change" for her leadership on sustainability. Despite the presidential nod, Patagonia said "thanks but no thanks" to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement championed by President Obama.

Marcario wrote that the deal "advances the interests of big business at the expense of the environment, workers, consumers, communities and small businesses."

5. Columbia CEO lends a ride to three proud moms.

Photo by Adrian Pingstone/Wikimedia Commons.

When American travelers Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone bravely subdued a gunman on a train to Paris, their families back home were relieved they were safe and thankful that they could save so many lives.

The French government announced they would honor the men with their highest award for heroism, the Legion of Honor — something a mom would obviously want to be there for. Unfortunately, theirs didn't have the means to travel for the occasion.

Then along came a CEO. At the thoughtful suggestion of his personal pilot, Doug Perrill, Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle swooped in with a generous offer for the three proud moms: a free ride to Paris on his private jet.

6. University head donates six-figure bonus. Again.

Photo via University of Cincinnati, used with permission.

For the third year in a row, Santa Ono, president of the University of Cincinnati (not technically a CEO, but same difference), forwent his bonus, opting to send that extra cash to programs supporting first generation, LGBTQ, and low-income students, as well as local high schools and community groups.

His 2015 bonus was $200,000 — almost four times the country's median household income and 38% of his more than half-a-million-dollar base salary, which would have grown had he not also refused his raise. And who can argue? The man knows he's got it good, and he wants to pay it forward. Cheers to that.

7. CEO sells big without forgetting who made it possible.


Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images.

Nevzat Aydin built his online food delivery company, Yemeksepeti, over 15 years. He sold it this year for $589 million. (Apparently, Turkish foodies like home delivery as much as Americans do.)

But Aydin knows he couldn't have done it without his 114 employees. "Yemeksepeti's success story did not happen overnight and many people participated in this journey with their hard work and talent," he said in an interview with CNN Money.

So he put his money where his gratitude was, doling out $27 million in bonuses (an average of $237,000 per employee), which must have been life-changing for many, considering most of his employees earned just $12,000–$24,000 a year.

8. CEO uses psychological research to invest in employees.*

Photo by Dan Price/Wikimedia Commons.

Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, read a Princeton study that looked at the impact of salary level on emotional well-being. The researchers identified a salary level at which participants exhibited peak happiness: $75,000. Price decided it was worth a try.

He initiated a plan to raise their minimum salary to $70,000 over two years, funding it in part by cutting his own exorbitant salary of $1.1 million to — you guessed it — $70,000. "I want to be a part of the solution to inequality in this country," Price told CBS News.

*However, this sunny story of Price as a Robin Hood for Corporate America is now overcast with legal intrigue, calling into question his motives for the salary decision. Regardless, a lot of Gravity employees are in much better financial positions than they were a year ago.

9. CEO of outdoor sports retailer blacklists Black Friday.

As most U.S. retailers corralled people in their doors to kick off the holiday shopping season, Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) CEO Jerry Stritzke and the cooperative's leadership urged us to go outdoors.

The company closed for Thanksgiving and Black Friday so their employees could be with family and friends. And they launched #OptOutside, an anti-marketing campaign encouraging customers to enjoy nature and inspire others to do the same by sharing their experiences on social media.

It worked on me — and at least 1.4 million others.

Red Rock Canyon on Black Friday 2015. REI also happened to be the first retailer I visited for holiday shopping.

It's encouraging to see business leaders doing some good in the world, but we should expect more.

Hopefully we'll see more of them in the headlines for the right reasons in 2016. As for us, here's hoping we push back when companies act against our interests. There's a resolution worth sticking with.

GIF from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

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It's not brains or talent. Expert says high achievers have two traits anyone can learn.

She broke it down into a simple formula.

angela duckworth, grit, ted talk, success, psychologist, therapist
via TED / YouTube

Angela Duckworth speaking at a TED event.

Why is it that some people are high achievers who have a track record of success and some people never come close to accomplishing their dreams? Is it talent, luck, or how you were raised? Is it that some people are just gifted and have exceptional talents that others don't?

The good news is, according to psychologist Angela Duckworth, the most critical factor in being a high achiever has nothing to do with talent or intelligence. It’s how long you can keep getting back up after getting hit. She calls it “grit” and, according to Duckworth’s research, it’s the common denominator in high achievers across the board, whether it’s cadets at West Point or kids in a spelling bee. Duckworth goes into depth on the topic in her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.

What personal traits make someone successful?

“The common denominator of high achievers, no matter what they’re achieving, is this special combination of passion and perseverance for really long-term goals,” Duckworth revealed on The Mel Robbins Podcast. “And in a word, it’s grit.”


“Partly, it’s hard work, right? Partly it’s practicing what you can’t yet do, and partly it’s resilience,” she continued. “So part of perseverance is, on the really bad days, do you get up again? So, if you marry passion for long-term goals with perseverance for long-term goals well then you have this quality that I find to be the common denominator of elite achievers in every field that I've studied."

When pressed to define the specific meaning of grit, Duckworth responded: “It’s these two parts, right? Passion for long-term goals, like loving something and staying in love with it. Not kind of wandering off and doing something else, and then something else again, and then something else again, but having a kind of North Star."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

For anyone who wants to achieve great things in life, grit is an attitude that one can develop for themselves that isn’t based on natural abilities or how well one was educated. Those things matter, of course, but having a gritty attitude is something someone can learn.

"I am not saying that there aren't genes at play because every psychologist will tell you that's also part of the story for everything and grit included,” Duckworth said. “But absolutely, how gritty we are is a function of what we know, who were around, and the places we go."

Why grit is so important

Grit is critical for people to become highly successful because it means that you stick with the task even when confronted with barriers. In every journey of taking an idea that you love and turning it into reality there is going to be what’s known as the dark swamp of despair—a place that you must wade through to get to the other side. It takes grit and determination to make it through the times when you fear that you might fail. If it were easy, then everyone could be high achievers.


Grit is what keeps people practicing in their room every night as teenagers and makes them an accomplished guitar player. Grit is what makes a basketball player the first one in the gym and the last to leave so that they make the starting lineup. Grit is knocking on the next door after 12 people have just slammed their doors in your face.

The wonderful thing about Duckworth’s work is that it presents an opportunity for everyone willing to do the work. You can no longer use the fact that you may not have specialized intelligence or a God-given talent as an excuse. All you need is perseverance and passion and you have as good a shot as anyone at achieving your dreams.

This article originally appeared last year.

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A server filmed the different ways Boomers and Gen Z leave their dinner tables at restaurants

One table was left spotless. The other was a mess.

Kaitlyn Brande TikTok, boomers vs Gen Z restaurant, waitress table etiquette, generational debate TikTok, stacking plates restaurant, server etiquette viral, boomer Gen Z manners, restaurant worker TikTok, viral waitress video, dining etiquette generational
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Young people enjoying a big dinner

In March 2020, an 18-year-old waitress from Utah named Kaitlyn Brande (@katebrande) pointed her phone camera at two tables in her section and said exactly what she was thinking. The video was 20 seconds long. It hit 9.3 million views, got her reprimanded by her employer, and launched a generational argument that apparently has no expiration date, because here we are again.

The setup is simple. Brande pans to the first table, still scattered with plates, napkins, and leftover food. "Here's all I'm saying," she says. "This is a table of five boomers that I took some plates out of the way of already." Then she swings the camera to the table next to it, where every plate has been stacked neatly at one end, cups grouped together, trash consolidated. "This is a table of six Gen Zs. They did that. Just saying."

Her caption did the rest: "They get paid to do that" VS "We know restaurant life is hard, here, let us help you out."

@katebrande

“They get paid to do that” VS “we know restaurant life is hard, here, let us help you out”

When the video hit 9.3 million views, corporate noticed. Brande deleted it. Then she quit the job and reposted it. In a BuzzFeed interview at the time, she was careful to clarify what she was and wasn't saying. "I'm not saying I expect people to ever stack their plates like that, because hey, I'm a person too," she told BuzzFeed. "All I'm saying is it was cool and helpful of the younger people, and I appreciated it." Her stated motivation was the irony of it: older generations tend to be the ones demanding respect from younger ones. "I posted it because I thought it was ironic since older people always expect respect," she said.

Kaitlyn Brande TikTok, boomers vs Gen Z restaurant, waitress table etiquette, generational debate TikTok, stacking plates restaurant, server etiquette viral, boomer Gen Z manners, restaurant worker TikTok, viral waitress video, dining etiquette generational Dirty dishes left on a tableCanva

The comments, then and now, split in every direction. Some people praised the Gen Z table for the gesture. Others pushed back on the framing entirely, pointing out that stacking plates isn't automatically helpful, and can actually make a server's job harder depending on how it's done. @rayvenia wrote: "Half of your server squad would prefer the plates not stacked. You all need a handbook to get it together." @skyerose1213 the more measured version of that argument: "I was taught by the main dishwashers to always be cautious about how you stack, and leave it if you don't know how. However, there is a difference between cleaning up your area and 'leaving it.'"

Kaitlyn Brande TikTok, boomers vs Gen Z restaurant, waitress table etiquette, generational debate TikTok, stacking plates restaurant, server etiquette viral, boomer Gen Z manners, restaurant worker TikTok, viral waitress video, dining etiquette generationalGif of overwhelmed waitress via Giphy


Others bypassed the plate-stacking question and went straight to the generational read. @bhaobansidhe commented: "It doesn't matter even if they do get paid for it, it helps the staff out, especially if it is hella busy and they don't get as much money as you think." @mariannlws52, who identified as Gen X, wrote: "I have been cleaning up tables for waitstaff for decades. Not only is it helpful, but it's also the right thing to do." And some people on the other side simply noted that clearing tables is, in fact, part of the job description, and that customers shouldn't feel obligated to do it.

What keeps this video resurfacing every year or two isn't really about plates. It's about what those plates represent: who sees service workers as people doing a hard job under pressure, and who doesn't register them much at all. That's a question without a clean generational answer, which is probably exactly why nobody can stop arguing about it.

Kaitlyn Brande TikTok, boomers vs Gen Z restaurant, waitress table etiquette, generational debate TikTok, stacking plates restaurant, server etiquette viral, boomer Gen Z manners, restaurant worker TikTok, viral waitress video, dining etiquette generational YouTube

This article originally appeared earlier this year.

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Millennials complain that their Boomer parents won't throw anything away. A psychologist explains why.

"3 car garage...cannot fit a single car in there."

boomer, boomers, boomer clutter, clutter, hoarding, too much stuff
Photo credit: Canva

A Baby Boomer stands in his cluttered garage.

Millennials with Baby Boomer parents have not been shy about airing their complaints about the older generation. Millennials have previously noted that their parents tend to hoard food—and now they're are airing their grievances about Boomer "stuff avalanche."

On Reddit, Millennials discussed their frustrations about their Boomer parents and the insane amount of junk they have in their homes that (allegedly) will one day be passed down to them to deal with. Many Millennials shared that it is a source of contention for them, and that they wish their parents would just throw things out.

"3 car garage...cannot fit a single car in there," one commented. And another stated, "I am very concerned with the amount of junk my parents are holding onto."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

A fellow peeved Millennial added, "The worst part is that our parents think this is all worth lots and lots of money. Don’t worry kids, these three sets of china I’m saving for you will be worth millions!"

Another had laid down the law: "My mom kept joking about all the 'stuff' being my inheritance. After a few times I was tired of it, I looked her dead in the face and said in the most monotone I could get. 'I will get the biggest dumpster I can, and it will all go in the trash.' She stopped making that joke, and my parents have been slowly throwing out their junk ever since."

clutter, baby boomer stuff avalance, stuff, too much stuff, decluttering A Baby Boomer garage filled with stuff.Photo credit: Canva

Why Boomers struggle to throw things away

"The Boomer generation grew up in the post-war era shaped by rationing and economic rebuilding," Daniel Glazer, clinical psychologist and co-founder of US Therapy Rooms, tells Upworthy.

He adds that the Boomer inability to let stuff go is often criticized, but when you look at the psychology of their attachment to objects, their behavior makes much more sense.

"Not so long ago, saving things was an adaptive habit. 'That might come in handy' was a common refrain in households in which replacing something was not so easy, or affordable," says Glazer. "There is also an element of emotional security that comes from the things that have surrounded us through decades of life events, or even across a lifetime."

And for many Boomers, getting rid of stuff can signify an even bigger mental battle.

"As people age, there can also be an increased awareness of mortality," says Esin Pinarli, founder and holistic psychotherapist at Eternal Wellness Counseling. "Letting go of objects can feel symbolic, almost like letting go of chapters of their life. If no one is asking about those chapters anymore, those objects become the tangible proof that those experiences mattered. So it’s not stubbornness. It’s often about attachment, meaning-making, and a fear of losing relevance or erasing parts of their story."

How to help Boomers declutter

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Starting the conversation with Boomer parents in an empathetic and understanding way may help the process go more smoothly and deepen the relationship between them and their children. Here are a few examples of conversation starters Millennials can use when talking to their Boomer parents about decluttering:

Conversation Starter #1: "I know these things mean something to you. I’d love to hear the story behind a few of them."

"This shifts the focus from getting rid of objects to honoring the meaning behind them," says Pinarli. "When a parent feels seen and understood, they’re often more open to eventually letting go. It validates that the attachment is about memory and identity, not just stuff."

Conversation Starter #2: "What would feel good for you to keep, and what feels like it’s just taking up space now?"

"This gives them agency," Pinarli explains. "Instead of telling them what to throw away, it invites them to reflect on what still feels meaningful versus what might no longer serve them. That sense of control reduces defensiveness."

Conversation Starter #3: "Would it help to go through this together so we can make sure the important things are preserved?"

"This frames decluttering as a collaborative and supportive process, not a demand," Pinarli shares. "It reassures them that their memories and legacy won’t be dismissed or erased, which can lower the emotional intensity around letting go."

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Woman on a mission to bring back lost Black American recipes has people gasping at vinegar pie

Most of the recipes were created out of poverty to provide families with a sweet treat.

lost recipes; Black American recipes; pie; Black history; vinegar pie
Images via Canva

Woman on a mission to bring back lost recipes has people gasping at vinegar pie.

People get very creative when it comes to cooking with limited ingredients and no budget. This combination is something people who lived through the Great Depression were very familiar with. It's also something Black Americans experienced frequently in the 1800s, but time has stolen many of the ingenious recipes. Until now.

One woman is on a mission to dig up these lost recipes for Black History Month. All February, Sonja Norwood, who runs the social media page for Wick'd Confections and owns Sonja Norwood Custom Cookies, has been baking up long-lost Black American recipes. Though the ingredients have folks scratching their heads, her videos clear things up by sharing each dish's history.


@wickdconfections

Peanuts became a major Southern crop after the Civil War, and at Tuskegee Institute, George Washington Carver helped popularize peanuts as an affordable, soil-restoring crop with hundreds of uses. In Black Southern kitchens, that peanut power turned into breads, cookies, cakes, candy… and survival baking. During the Great Depression and WWII rationing, butter, eggs, and milk were often scarce. Peanut butter became the substitute for fat and protein, and peanut butter bread became a school-lunch staple and family recipe passed down through generations. Serve warm with a nostalgic molasses glaze and you’ll understand why this deserves a comeback 🤎 🥜 Peanut Butter Bread (One-bowl, no eggs, no butter) Ingredients 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (220 g) ½ cup granulated sugar (100 g) ¼ cup brown sugar (50 g) 1 tbsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 cup milk (240 ml) ¾ cup creamy peanut butter (190 g) 1 tsp vanilla extract Optional topping: 2 tbsp sugar Instructions 1️⃣ Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. 2️⃣ Whisk flour, sugars, baking powder, salt. 3️⃣ Add milk, peanut butter, vanilla. Mix until just combined. 4️⃣ Spread into pan, sprinkle sugar if using. 5️⃣ Bake 50–60 min until toothpick comes out clean. 6️⃣ Cool 15 min, remove, slice. ✨ Molasses Glaze 2 tbsp butter (28 g) 3 tbsp molasses (45 ml) 2 tbsp milk (30 ml) 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) ¼ tsp vanilla + pinch salt Optional: pinch cinnamon or ginger Melt butter, whisk in molasses + milk until warm. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in vanilla and salt. #BlackHistory #BlackHistoryn#TikTokLearningCampaign##FoodHistorye#VintageRecipes

One particular recipe caused the former Food Network contestant to give a disclaimer before tasting it, saying, "Before I try this, we understand that there's a reason this pie exists, right? It's genius. Very creative. That does not mean I have to like it."

A unique recipe

Norwood tried her hand at vinegar pie, and just like viewers of the video, the baker was unsure how the dessert would turn out:

"Vinegar pie, also known as desperation pie, is classified as a pantry or make-do pie. As you can tell, this pie was born out of necessity, when fruit or citrus lemons were hard to come by. Home cooks used what they had on hand. Simple pantry staples to make something sweet, like sugar, eggs, butter, flour, and salt. A lot of people associate vinegar pie with the Great Depression, when fresh fruit was super expensive and scarce, but recipes go back much further. As early as 1855."


@wickdconfections

Navy Bean Pie 🥧✨ A true heritage dessert with deep roots in Black American food culture. This traditional navy bean pie has a smooth, firm custard texture — rich, lightly spiced, and beautifully sliceable without hours of chilling. Simple ingredients, timeless flavor, and a recipe shaped by community and history. 🥧 Classic Navy Bean Pie (9-inch) Texture: traditional • smooth • firm custard • faster set Crust
• 1 (9-inch) pie crust (homemade or store-bought) Filling
• 1½ cups cooked navy beans (300 g) OR 1 (15-oz) can, drained & rinsed
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted (170 g)
• 1 cup evaporated milk (240 ml)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (15 g)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (8 g)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt ⭐ If using canned beans (flavor boost)
• Rinse well
• Simmer in fresh water 5–10 minutes
• Drain completely Instructions
1️⃣ Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C
2️⃣ Blend beans until completely smooth and creamy
3️⃣ Whisk butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, spices, flour, and cornstarch
4️⃣ Stir in blended beans until smooth
5️⃣ Pour into crust and smooth top
6️⃣ Bake 45–55 minutes (edges set, center barely jiggles)
7️⃣ Cool 1 hour at room temp, chill 1 hour for clean slices Slice, serve, and enjoy ✨ #BlackHi#BlackHistoryn#LearnOnTikToke#BeanPies#FoodHistoryalCooking

For the recipe, the custom cookie maker used vanilla, honey, and apple cider vinegar in the runny mixture. At first glance, it’s hard to see how this could turn into a pie meant to be cut and eaten with a fork, as it has the consistency of French toast batter. But once it’s poured into a pie pan and popped into the oven, it begins to look like a pie.

"Black cooks in the South and the Midwest adapted pantry-based dishes like this into their family food culture," Norwood shares while mixing ingredients. "So you were going to see this pie at Sunday dinner and on special occasions, and it doesn't taste the way you think a vinegar pie would taste. The acidity cuts through the sweetness and mimics lemon pie without the fruit."


@wickdconfections

Lost Black American Recipes: Vinegar Pie 🥧 To kick off Black History Month, I’m starting a series honoring lost and forgotten Black American recipes—beginning with vinegar pie. Also known as desperation pie or pantry pie, this dessert was born from necessity. When fruit and citrus were scarce, home cooks used simple pantry staples to create something sweet, comforting, and joyful. Made with sugar, eggs, butter, and a splash of apple cider vinegar, vinegar pie has a flaky crust and a rich custard filling. The vinegar doesn’t make it sour—it adds brightness, mimicking the tang of fruit and balancing the sweetness. It’s a reminder of how Black foodways transform struggle into creativity and care. 🖤 Vinegar Pie Recipe (9-inch pie): 4 eggs ½ cup sugar ½ cup brown sugar ½ tsp vanilla 6 tbsp butter, melted 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp flour ¾ tsp salt Unbaked 9-inch pie crust Blind bake crust at 350°F (175°C). Whisk remaining ingredients until smooth, pour into crust, and bake 35–45 minutes. The center should still wobble slightly when gently shaken. Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar. Follow along as we honor Black history through food—one lost recipe at a time. #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackAmericanFood #LostRecipes #BlackFoodHistory #FoodReels

Viewers were shocked at how good the pie looked when it was done. Some even plan to give the Black American recipe a try. One person writes, "I[t] looks good and it was way less vinegar than my mind thought lol."

Another says, "This looks so good! My grandma is 93 born & raised in Georgia and she swears by this pie & buttermilk pie. She watched this & just kept saying 'yup, yup' so I know it’s good."

This person appreciates the history: "I appreciated acknowledging that it came out of necessity and that you don't have to like it. Sometimes people have to make due with what they have and it's not always what you necessarily want."


@wickdconfections

Lost Black American Recipes: Blackberries & Dumplings 🍇🥟 Blackberries and dumplings is a sweet summertime dish rooted in Black American food culture. When sugar and money were scarce, the land provided. Black families relied on foraging, gathering blackberries that grew freely along fence lines, woods, and roadsides across the South. What began as necessity became tradition — turning simple ingredients into a communal, nourishing meal. Passed down orally and cooked intuitively, this dish was rarely written into cookbooks. Flour stretched what little was available, dumplings absorbed the berry juices, and one pot could feed many for very little. Though we still see cobblers today, blackberries and dumplings remain a largely forgotten seasonal treat — one deeply connected to land, resilience, and care. Blackberries & Dumplings Recipe Blackberry Syrup: 4 cups blackberries 1 cup sugar 2 cups water 1 tbsp lemon juice Lemon zest Dumplings: 2 cups flour ¼ cup sugar 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp nutmeg ¾ cup milk 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla Simmer blackberries with sugar, water, lemon juice, and zest until juicy. Mix dumpling dough until it feels right. Drop spoonfuls into simmering berries, don’t stir, cover and cook 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer 5 more minutes. Serve warm with plenty of syrup. Follow along as I honor Black history through lost recipes — one pot at a time. #BlackHistory #TikTokLearningCampaign #BlackAmericanFood #LostRecipes #FoodHistory

"This is brilliantly done," someone else writes. "Showing the ingenuity and innovation of Black folks is beautiful! This video is information and funny! I'm glad you actually liked the pie. Def going to ask my 90 year old granny about this recipe. Thanks for posting this."

Vinegar Pie Recipe (9-inch pie):

4 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla
6 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp flour
¾ tsp salt
Unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Blind bake crust at 350°F (175°C). Whisk remaining ingredients until smooth, pour into crust, and bake 35–45 minutes. The center should still wobble slightly when gently shaken. Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

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Costco customers are overjoyed by news that the store's 'archaic' cake ordering system is finally modernizing

"This is GREAT!"

costco, costco cake, costco cakes, costco cake order, costco custom cake app
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Costco announces new app for custom cake orders.

Loyal Costco fans are lauding their favorite big-box store for a long-awaited change to its custom cake ordering system. In a company memo, Costco announced that it will be launching an app for customers to order customized cakes at the touch of their fingers without having to enter a Costco store.

"We've got ordering cakes and deli trays online coming," said Costco CEO Ron Vachris. "Many of the things that we've heard from our members that could be a little bit clunky are now moving to a digital state, and we're seeing great adoption right out of the chute."

It's a massive change from the previous custom cake process. Costco lovers have long complained about the old-school ordering system that required customers to physically go to the store's bakery, where they would fill out a slip of paper with their order requests and simply drop it in the order box.

@eatsbyrachel

Anyone else feel like the @Costco Wholesale custom cake ordering system is a bit antiquated? 🤔 Regardless, their analog process somehow always works 💯 #costco #costcobakery #cake #customcake #costcodoesitagain #costcocake #costcofinds #costcodeals #costcofind #costcofinds #eatsbyrachel

Costco's "1800s" custom cake ordering

Back in 2023, writer Lucy Huber humorously poked fun at Costco's seemingly outdated custom cake ordering system that resonated with fellow Costco shoppers. And her words went viral:

"Ordered a cake from Costco and their system is from the 1800s, you write what you want on a piece of paper & put it in a box then nobody follows up and you just show up and hope they made it? I tried to call to confirm & they were like 'if you put it in the box, it will be there'," she wrote.



It was a system that also caused Costco members on Reddit a lot of anxiety.

"We did our wedding cakes from Costco, talk about a nerve-racking experience hoping everything worked out," one wrote.

Another shared, "Drop a paper in a hole and cross your fingers 🤣🤣."

Costco customers have mixed feelings

Many Costco customers and Redditors expressed their positive reactions to the updated ordering system news:

"As someone who lives 1.5 hours away from three different Costcos I LOVE this. I'm rarely in the market for a custom cake, but when I am I'm not driving an hour and a half to fill out the request form in store."

"This is GREAT! But will I also be able to order chocolate cake with white icing and vice-versa? Because currently I can’t do that at my Costco."

"While the box system worked, it was archaic. With anything, the new system will take time to implement."

"Jumping from the 19th century to the 21st century. Bravo Costco!"

Others weren't as happy:

"Kind of sad in a way. There are not too many interactions like this in the digital age."

"But the Paper & Pencil worked."

"Coming in 2027: I didn't get my cake at Costco because Amazon-East-1 is down :(."

"I have ordered many cakes with this low tech. Never an issue."

Costco bakery workers react

Workers in Costco bakeries also chimed in, many with negative opinions:

"As someone who works in the bakery this is going to be a disaster. Half the people don’t even know the name on the order or what the cake says when they come to pick up. Like 2 times a week we get someone trying to pick up at the wrong Costco."

"As a bakery employee, this is going to be a nightmare. The whole point of keeping the order form in warehouse only was to not overwhelm our staff AND (this one being the real reason I was given), is it makes people come in and 'grab a few items while their there, and then again when they come pick up the cake.' I am not looking forward to this. People are going to order at the wrong Costco, not do it right and then get mad at us. I'm terrified of this change 🫣."

"As someone who has worked in the bakery at Costco, the prevailing thought has been 'the system we have works fairly well, so they’re probably not gonna change it.' It’s the same reason that the major sales department still uses paper slips for computers. Well, except for the apple tables. Those have a little iPad kiosk that will print out your slip for you, but literally none of the members ever use it and instead ask us to do it for them."

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