The bagels, baked and sold by MSU Bakers , promote breast cancer awareness. Rita Lyon, a baker for the past 14 years, created the recipe for the cranberry and orange-flavored bagels as a tribute to her mother, Gwen.

Lyon’s mother passed away from breast cancer in 1972. Lyon said it was a horrible time to be diagnosed with the disease.

“Back in the ‘70s, treatment was very harsh,” Lyon said. “There wasn’t chemotherapy or mammograms — by the time a woman knew she had it, it was pretty far along.”

Lyon said her mother, who she described as a hard-working and humorous woman, would be proud to know there is a bagel in her honor.

Cindy Baswell, service manager of MSU Bakers, said for every half dozen sold, $1 is donated to the American Cancer Society. Last year, the bakers made 720 dozen bagels and donated about $350. This year, they are striving to sell at least 800 dozen bagels.

“(It’s) not a lot of money, but a lot of bagels got out there,” Baswell said. “A lot of pink ribbons got out there. It’s our way to spread awareness of breast cancer.”

The bagels each are hand rolled at the beginning of the month and frozen, Baswell said. Every morning, the bagels are taken out of the freezer and baked based on how many orders they have for the day.

Baswell said the 90 employees at MSU Bakers all have a role in getting the bagels ready and out to customers.

Since they began making the bagels, Baswell estimates they have made about 35,000.

“We’ve all wrapped our arms around this program — not just Gwen’s Bagels, but awareness of breast cancer in general,” Baswell said.