The Strange Reason People Are Stapling Bread To Trees

If you’ve happened upon some bread stapled to a tree, you may have had questions.

Was it a random act? Did someone want to feed the squirrels? Why did someone take the time to staple bread to a tree?

Apparently, there are hundreds of thousands of people who appreciate bread stapled to trees. Some people participate in actually stapling bread to a tree, while others just enjoy the handiwork of others.

An entire Reddit sub has been dedicated to stapling bread on trees. The sub, aptly named r/BreadStapledToTrees, was started back in 2017 as a joke and has since grown to over 317,000 members.

Why bread of all things? Because it’s a staple food (ba dum tss).

Back in 2017 when the group got started, some friends simply wanted to amuse themselves and maybe amuse others on the Internet. One of them started the subreddit and it took off from there.

The community’s “About” section simply says: “Pictures of bread that have been stapled to trees.” If you spend any time scrolling the sub, you’ll realize that’s exactly what it’s about!

People staple up to three pieces of bread on one tree and follow a set of rules that specify the type of bread, trees, and staples that can be used. The rules are created to avoid damaging delicate trees or wildlife and also to get members to participate without taking shortcuts.

In an interview with bon appetit, one of the community’s moderators, Bob Anderson, said the group is more than just about stapling bread to trees, but about fostering a warm and uplifting community. He said, “It’s a very welcoming community and everybody’s very kind to each other.”

Anderson added that there’s something about the “sheer absurdity” of the group that draws people in.

So, there you have it. If you come across a piece of bread stapled to a tree in the wild, you’ll know why it’s there. You could even take a photo of it and share it on the Reddit sub!