04/01/2026
Dear Foodies, Bread-Heads, and Bucket Besties ( and ),
When I launched Bucket of Bread in 2020, the objective was simple. Prove that a mission-driven brand could help combat food insecurity while delivering a truly high-quality product.
And while today’s date may raise an eyebrow, this decision is very real. From a wake-up concept at 3:00 AM to a national stage, that mission became reality. But more importantly, it became something bigger than a product.
To our customers, the families, home bakers, and creative kitchens who brought Bucket of Bread to life in their own homes, thank you. You were never just customers. You were the mission in motion. Every order, every shared recipe, every moment in your kitchen helped turn a simple idea into meaningful impact.
To those who contributed beyond the purchase, whether through direct donations or by supporting the cause alongside us, thank you for helping extend that impact even further. Together, we proved that business can be a vehicle for giving, not just selling. For those who wish to continue supporting hunger relief efforts, we will maintain a dedicated space on our website with a direct link to organizations such as Hunger Task Force of La Crosse.
This journey was also shaped by organizations and platforms that believed in the vision and helped amplify it:
• PenFed Foundation and MidCountry Bank, for the 2022 Veteran Entrepreneur Ignition Challenge win that provided the initial spark to scale.
• Project Pitch It Season 8, for the Peg Ann and David Gruber Award and the mentorship that followed.
• The Milwaukee Bucks and Clover, for the opportunity to be featured at Fiserv Forum as a Veteran-owned business.
• The Blox at BetaBlox and Wes Bergmann, for a national platform that tested and strengthened my ability to lead and grow.
• Verizon Businesss, for inclusion in the Small Business Digital Ready program and the opportunity to participate in their San Francisco training camp.
• Veteran Shark Tank, DAV Patriot Boot Camp, and the broader veteran entrepreneurship community including Institute for Veterans and Military Families - IVMF at Syracuse University, Bunker Labs, Warrior Rising, VBOC at WWBIC, WWBIC, and the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce, including the Vetrepreneur Project.
• And to the media platforms that helped share this story, including the WIZM Coulee Region Cooks radio show, along with national podcasts, publications, and local features that gave this mission a voice.
Bucket of Bread was built to prove something. That purpose and product could coexist. That simplicity could still inspire creativity. That a small company from Wisconsin could make a real contribution to a much larger issue. Making us proud to have been part of the 'Something Special from Wisconsin' program.
That mission has been accomplished.
A successful leader knows when a chapter has reached its natural conclusion. Not out of necessity, but out of completion. Today, I am choosing to close this chapter at its peak and step away from the CEO role to focus on new personal objectives and the next phase of life here in Wisconsin’s Coulee Region.
What was built here matters. The impact is real. And the foundation will be carried forward in ways that extend beyond a single company.
To everyone who was part of this journey, thank you. It has been a privilege.
HAPPY BAKING!
Sincerely,
CHRISTOPHER J. WYSONG
Veteran, Owner, Founder, & CEO
Bucket of Bread
