Food+Drink

The Muffin Lady

Menomonie’s philanthropist of baked goods

Brittni Straseske, photos by Libby Smith |

Students at UW-Stout may not recognize the name Yvonne Cox, but many know who “The Muffin Lady” is. Every Monday during the school year, Cox can be found on the UW-Stout campus handing out a multitude of muffins. “We do it so that we have the opportunity to help make Mondays a more pleasant day,” she said in a student-made documentary on the beloved icon. The “we” Cox is referring to is her fellow church members who help bake the approximately 60 dozen muffins she hands out every week. Those more than 700 muffins come in a variety of flavors (at least five every week), ranging from the traditional (blueberry) to the unique (piña colada), all of which the perfectly pleasant Yvonne hands out from her cart of muffin baskets. Though the muffin lady is affiliated with a church, she’s in no way pushing beliefs – nor are there strings attached of any kind. Just the comforting thought of a muffin and person to talk to. “I have the feeling that if you’re dependable, then the students know I’m going to be there and if they have any trouble they know they can come and talk to me and feel comfortable doing that,” she said.