Since opening in 2017, each year during African Heritage Month, Delectable Desserts has sold Black Futures Cupcakes.
“All the proceeds from the sales are donated to local initiatives that are working to bettering the future for black youth in the city,” said Melissa Mbeba, co-owner of the dessert shop.
Mebab says this year they didn’t have an idea for what cake to feature and so they decided to involve students from Nelson Whynder Elementary School in North Preston.
During art class, students were asked to create designs for cupcakes that they felt represented their communities.
Staff at Delectable Desserts went over the designs and identified six themes that kept popping up, and from there they created six cupcakes for their Black Futures Cupcakes sale.
Included in the half dozen is a ‘Peace and Love’ cupcake in honour of Lee Marion Cain. Cain was a student at Nelson Whynder who was killed in a brazen shooting in Dartmouth in 2021. Cain was just eight years old when he died.
“He was a great person, and if he lived longer he would have been a great role model,” said Lestat Downey, a grade six student Nelson Whynder Elementary School.
Students at the school say that Lee Marion who they refer to as Mar Mar would always say “peace and love goes together.”
The ‘Peace and Love’ cupcake is topped with blue and purple icing, Cain’s favourite colours, and has a peace symbol and heart on top.
The cupcakes are available for purchase until March 10 and students at the school say it was cool to take part in a project like this and see aspects of their designs come to life.
“It really means a lot that our community is getting represented in different ways,’ said grade six student Kamora Cain.