When Zahara was supported by Women's Refuge, a gift of home baking would have gone a long way.
Now, she's a regular Good Bitch baking in the Napier chapter and encouraging her children and their schools to get involved as a way to teach compassion and kindness.
"My children have grown up with me being a giver. They see me do it all the time," she says.
Now her son, Ali (17) and his friend Drew spend their lunchtimes baking for Good Bitches Baking.
They're both students at Napier Boys High School, and their home economics & hospitality teacher, Ashleigh, supports them to give back to their community.
"They're really proactive about it," she says.
"We bake once a fortnight, usually for the Lighthouse Foundation, and the boys choose what we bake. They're always so eager.
"It's been great for them to practice some of the technical skills they've been learning in class too," Ashleigh says.
It's early days, but both women have big dreams for expanding - Ashleigh would like to expand the school's contribution, and possibly make it a student-run part of the senior curriculum.
"It's nice to know they think of someone else. It's nice to have the overall message of kindness tied to the baking," she says.
Zahara is hoping to encourage her daughter's school to also start baking with Good Bitches Baking.
"It's the best way to teach children compassion - especially in high school," Zahara says.
National Operations Manager Anjuli says the chapter has been impressed with the way the GBB mahi is teaching kindness.
"We also see parents and grandparents baking with their children and talking with them about the people receiving the baking - how they need to know their community cares and supports them," Anjuli says.
"It's fantastic to see young people getting involved in their community and spreading kindness."