Pie it Forward is a group of three “weirdo do-gooders” who love baking. “We’re just three regular people who got tired of complaining about the state of the world and decided to do something about it,” they explain. And that “do[ing] something about it” turned out to be baking and giving away delicious pies. To anyone and everyone. For free. No strings attached. And they’ll be in Baltimore today.
Although it may not seem so at first, the Pie It Forward team sees their work as political in nature. Sarah Fertig, the primary driver and blogger and “executive weirdo do-gooder,” started her project as OccuPIE Wednesdays in Ann Arbor, Michigan over a year ago. Here’s how she explained the idea back then:
“I have a pie. I just baked it and I’m really proud of it. It looks delicious. But even though I bought the ingredients and baked it myself, I don’t really consider it “my” pie.
“You see, I wasn’t born knowing how to bake pies — someone had to teach me. I didn’t make the pie out of my own apples or wheat or butter. Someone had to plant a tree, sow a field, milk a cow. Someone had to harvest the crops and process the milk. Someone had to transport the crops to a grocery store so I could buy them. And someone had to lay the roads and maintain the trucks and build the grocery store and operate the cash register. Someone had to install wires so I could have electricity in my house to see the ingredients and bake the pie.
“So even though I put the final product together, untold millions of people have helped make this pie possible. That’s why I’m happy to share it with ANYONE who has less pie or no pie. And all I ask in return is that if I’m sharing the pie I made with you, please try to learn how to bake pies yourself, so that someday you too may share pie with someone who has less.”
A few months ago, Fertig, her fiance Chris, and their border collie Shalosh loaded up their camper van, hoping to bring their free pies to people across the nation. In June, they drove through Little Rock, Arkansas, where they picked up Scott, who now serves as their baking assistant.
The whole operation is funded by donations, so if you’ve got any spare flour, sugar, apples, or butter, I’m sure the Pie It Forward crew would make good use of them. Or if you just want some free pie, stop by the Lauraville farmer’s market (at the northwest corner of Montebello Terrace & Harford Rd., across from the Safeway) today at 4pm.
