Everyone can use a bit of kindness.

And in a world where you can be anything, one young girl is finding out that being kind can make all the difference for people.

Her road to communicating that to others, though, begins with food, not words of compassion.

From an early age, Sahana Vij has been in the kitchen with her mother. She remembers learning at age 5 how to make French toast. Then, after making soup and enchiladas, the two volunteered at a homeless shelter in Seattle, helping to serve meals with families who were in need.

“Food is a major, big, important way to communicate with people,” Vij, now an 18-year-old freshman at the University of California, Irvine, said.

Food helps connect us.”

While growing up, Vij taught herself how to bake, making new recipes weekly. “I’d always make it for other people,” she said. “My way of communicating with other people was through food.” Her father, Shawn Vij said baking was “like painting” for her. 

But Vij wanted to do more than just bake for herself and family. She wanted to make sure everyone in the world could have enough food to eat. So, while in high school, Vij wrote ‘Bake Away’, a cookbook which is now available online and in stores. 

Sahana Vij holds a cookbook she wrote. Photo by The Seattle Times

The book is made up of 20 recipes created by Vij. All proceeds she earns will go to No Kids Hungry, a group that funds school meals and food banks for kids. The recipes in the book celebrate Vij’s family.

The idea was simple. “You need to eat,” Vij. “You need to eat breakfast, you need to eat lunch, you need to fuel your body, especially while you’re learning.”

She didn’t stop at just writing the book. She took a copy to famous chef Thomas Kelelr, who runs The French Laundry, an upscale restaurant in California. He loved her book.

This young baker gives me hope for the future,” Kelelr said on her website.

Vij plans to change the world with baking. One day, after college, she would like to open her own bakery, all the while donating to No Kid Hungry. And possibly writing another cookbook.

“I want to be able to make an impact on the world,” she said. “I hope that I can inspire others to keep creating, and I hope I can continue to bake and share what I’ve made with other people.”

Vij is hoping that her book will sell out. If it did, she said, that would provide more than 700,000 meals to help feed starving children.

“As many as possible,” she said. “It feels like a necessity to me.”

Watch below for a look at the cookbook and the young chef!

Sources: People | Seattle Times