Pies are the Ingredient for a Successful Fundraiser;
Lake View Congregational Church Raises Money With Thanksgiving Pie Fest
 When it comes to making pies, Lake View Congregational Church in Worcester, takes the cake.
For the past ten years, Lake View has held a Thanksgiving Pie Fest fundraiser. In addition to making the pies and selling the pies, they also donate and deliver the pies to a worthy cause.
This past November, over 26 people – aged 8 to 84 – spent two Saturdays on a pie-making assembly line in the church kitchen. There were stations for rolling pie crust, peeling and slicing apples, mixing ingredients, and finishing and bagging. Pie Fest Chairperson Kathy Freeburn explained that by keeping the "making and baking" of the pies at the church, they have control over the quality and handling of the food.
"It’s hard work, but we can make more than 70 apple pies in less than 4 hours!" said Freeburn. "It’s truly a group effort."
Over the years, the pie crew found that offering just a few varieties was easiest and seemed to satisfy most tastes. The church offers baked pumpkin pies as well as baked or unbaked frozen apple and chocolate walnut pies. The church charges $7 for the frozen and $8 for baked varieties, and has raised between $800 and $1,000 each year for the general fund and special programs.
Most of the ingredients are donated by the congregation, including the apples for the apple pies. A neighboring orchard and farm stand supplements the supply by donating its "apple drops." All pies are made to order and are prepaid, so there are issues of storage and freshness. First, all pies -- unbaked -- are frozen, using the 2 freezers at the church as well as freezers owned by various members. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, all pies ordered baked go into the oven to be ready for pickup the next day. Chocolate walnut and pumpkin pies are made on that Saturday as well. Freeburn assures that since the pies are baked within 24 hours of pickup then stored in a cold room overnight, if the food is kept refrigerated by the buyer, it stays fresh for Thanksgiving Day.
"But sometimes the pies don't make it to Thanksgiving," Freeburn joked. "We had one man come back an hour after he picked up a chocolate walnut pie and asked if there were more because he and his wife had eaten theirs!"
Despite many people's concerns over calories, each year the number of pies sold grows. "Over time, we’ve heard many reasons not to buy the baked goods, like 'I’m dieting, so I can’t have a pie in the house' or 'we go to relatives and they have everything," said Freeburn. "So four years ago we decided to offer an alternative for people who want to contribute funds but don't want the dessert temptation in the house."
Buyers can donate the pies to the local Homeless Veterans Shelter. In the past, Lake View volunteers have delivered up to 10 pies each year to the shelter. "The veterans are always delighted to see the homemade pies offered as their Thanksgiving dessert. "Apple and chocolate walnut seem to be their favorites," said Freeburn.
"And," she continued, "we’re thankful that our fund raiser benefits not only our church, but the veterans as well!"
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