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Sharing something you enjoy usually feels like a good thing.

For one woman, that just happens to be sourdough bread. She loves baking it and often gives extra loaves to her family and neighbors.

Lately, though, work has been taking up more of her time, leaving her with more sourdough starter than she can use.

Since getting a starter going can be difficult, she’s thinking about giving some away to people who want to learn.

The only thing holding her back is the thought that it could hurt a few local vendors who sell starter for extra money.

Keep reading to see her thoughts on the situation.

WIBTA If I gave away sourdough starter for free?

Basically, I bake as a hobby and love to make sourdough. I’m on a low-carb diet, so it’s normal for me to bake bread for my husband and son and give the extra away to our neighbors. Some neighbors have requested it for holidays, and I oblige.

I never sell it because this is strictly a hobby for me. I have also managed to culture three very strong sourdough starters.

Work has picked up, and I haven’t been baking as much, so I don’t need to have as much starter as I do.

She wants to give it away, but is unsure if it would hurt other community members.

I have been thinking of posting it on Marketplace or in the community forum, offering to give some away to help people start their own sourdough cultures. One of the trickiest parts of sourdough is getting the starter going, and it puts a lot of people off.

So I feel like giving it away will help people explore new hobbies and become able to make their own goods at home. However, there are people in the area who sell sourdough and starter for some extra income.

I don’t want to seem like I am putting people “out of business” by offering it up. Especially because we are in a lower-income area.

WIBTA?

Yikes! That’s quite a dilemma she has there.

Let’s see what advice the readers over at Reddit have to offer.

This reader doesn’t think she’ll make an impact.

Yet another reader with similar thoughts.

As this comment explains, most of those same businesses sell starter kits.

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This is some good logic.

What a great idea! And plenty of people would probably appreciate it.

Realistically, though, how much starter could she possibly give away?

Unless she plans to supply half the town, she’s probably only helping a few people get started with a new hobby. That likely won’t hurt the local sellers very much, especially since people who want convenience will still pay for it.

As long as she keeps it reasonable, there’s no reason to feel guilty about sharing something she already has.