Columbia vegans get to know the muffin freshman

Autumn brings more than just cool weather to the vegans of Frederick, Md., as animal rights activist and baker Autumn Bordner, CC ’13, started a vegan muffin business called Little Miss Muffin in her hometown.

Bordner, a vegetarian since seventh grade and vegan for about a year, was frustrated by the lack of suitable dessert options, so in September of 2008, she took matters into her own hands.
“I wanted to prove that vegan baking is just as good, if not better, than traditional baking, and I wanted to provide muffins to the muffinless among us,” Bordner said.

After receiving positive responses from her friends, Bordner began selling her muffins at TerrEssentials, a small organic foods market in Frederick. After that, she reached out to a larger natural and organic food co-op, Common Market, where her muffins sold out almost every week.

“It required a lot of hard work on top of my other school-related commitments,” Bordner said. “So, although there was potential for me to sell my muffins to other food markets, I was happy with my level of commitment to TerrEssentials and then the Common Market.”

Though the endeavor was not originally meant for profit, Little Miss Muffin was consistently in the black with top-selling flavors like Simply Divine Blueberry and Grandma Muffin Pumpkin.

Bordner used local, organic flour, sugar, soy milk, and fresh produce to bake her products. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, she had to lease a cooking space where she baked a batch every Friday. The Common Market provided the barcodes, while Bordner made labels at the local Michaels arts and crafts store.

“I would often have people refer to me as ‘The Muffin Girl,’” Bordner said.

As Little Miss Muffin grew in popularity, some of Bordner’s friends would place individual orders along with the Common Market’s weekly demand. Common Market orders totaled as many as 250 muffins at a time, while individual orders could reach as high as 48 muffins.

“I became a vegan and started Little Miss Muffin after working on a factory farming industry project in high school,” Bordner said. “I realized how hypocritical it was for me to be a vegetarian based on animal rights when animals are treated just as badly, if not worse, for vegetarian products such as milk.”

Bordner has been a vegan since 2007 and is a firm supporter of the lifestyle.

“I’ve discovered so many different foods, especially grains like quinoa, through practicing veganism,” Bordner said. “I think it’s the most healthy, environmentally friendly, and practical eating lifestyle.”
Though Bordner has not whipped out the muffin pans since arriving at Columbia, she hopes to do so soon.

“Whenever I bake my muffins, I just try to fill them with love,” Bordner said.