A Cut Above

Bob Dobler crafts meals from cutting boards

Most days you can find Bob Dobler in his workshop handcrafting cutting boards or at the Backpack Friends headquarters helping organize, pack and distribute backpacks of food and toiletries. Each week, more than 600 backpacks are delivered to 18 schools in our area for distribution to students.

What do cutting boards have to do with feeding hungry kids? A lot! Dobler has crafted and sold more than 3,500 cutting boards in the past seven years, with all of the proceeds — more than $54,000 — going to Backpack Friends. The funds help purchase nutritious, easy to prepare food that is sent home on Fridays with children who might otherwise go hungry over the weekend.

Each backpack of food costs roughly $8. Dobler’s donation has helped to provide more than 6,750 backpacks to children throughout Carteret, Craven and Onslow counties.

Dobler first heard about Backpack Friends seven years ago at a Rotary meeting. At that time, the group was packing around 200 backpacks each week. Dobler started volunteering regularly and simply wanted to do something that would help fund the program’s mission.

A skilled woodworker, Dobler used a pattern that he had seen many years ago to create the first cutting board, and the idea grew from there.

“Each board is its own work of art,” said Dobler. “Three different types of wood are used to create its unique pattern — ash, cherry and sapele,” he continued. “I’ve made a few different designs, but the checkerboard pattern is what I am known for.”

“Bob is an enthusiastic, shining light for the Backpack Program. He has become someone I trust and admire,” said Danielle Abraham, Backpack Friends director. “I would not be able to do what I do without him. He is a treasure to our program and the community.”

Dobler crafts around 200 boards each month. They come in four different sizes, from mini to large. The large board has fifty individual pieces that must be cut precisely to 1.5 inches, glued, sanded and finished with oil before it is ready to be sold.

“It’s impossible to say how much time goes into each board,” said Dobler. “I spend about six hours a day in my shop to keep up with the demand.”

Luckily for Backpack Friends and the children it serves, Dobler doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. If you would like to purchase a cutting board, you can visit Elly’s Gifts in Emerald Isle.

Click here for more information about Backpack Friends.