Kyle Cuffie-Scott, owner-baker at Darnel’s Cakes in Phila., started his mission-oriented business as a tented vendors at the Lansdale Farmers’ Market. He’s now using its success to bolster an at-risk population, reported Maddy Sweitzer-Lammé in Philadelphia Magazine.

Cuffie-Scott began baking commercially as an AIDS fundraiser. His reputation for excellence spread from the reactions of loyal customers who included regulars at the Lansdale Farmers’ Market.

That success precipitated its brick-and-mortar version in the city’s Callowhill section.

It’s a site that provides not only top-notch baked goods but also an opportunity to advocate for the destigmatization of HIV and AIDS.

The bakery’s name is a tribute to Cuffie-Scott’s cousin Darnel, who passed from AIDS complications in 2013.

“Darnel was … from Georgia, and he loved to sing and was heavily involved in the church. I was just getting to know him as an adult when he died,” the baker related.

He characterizes his business as more “mission driven” than nonprofit, raising awareness and erasing stigmas.

“We have HIV tests here,” Cuffie-Scott explained. “we can give someone a test discreetly if they need it. And also, we just talk about HIV and AIDS, and hopefully that lowers the stigma a little bit.”

More on Darnel’s Cakes and the outlook of its owner-baker is at Philadelphia Magazine.