Shy at first, staff slowly gathered around the conference table with three round pies in the middle. “You made these?” they wondered.
“Yes, for you!” I answered with a grin. Their eyes got bigger.
The gift of pie: made with love, with ingredients from my own mother’s garden (rhubarb, lemons), with the intention of honoring people who do the good work of strengthening our communities. Often unsung, or at least not thanked directly, they are the people who staff the shelter for domestic violence or rape crisis center, who run the senior center, who work day in and day out for social justice, who do the inglorious work behind the scenes at a hundred non-profit agencies everywhere. 
January 23 was National Pie Day. What a great holiday, huh? What a great day to celebrate pie, and so we did.
The dozen women and two men who work the day shift at the shelter got to have their fill of three kinds of pie: raspberry rhubarb, deep red beckoning through a lattice crust; apple, overflowing with fruit; and chocolate chess pie, a lush custard that was still a touch warm. At the ACLU, the staff got to choose between lemon chess pie, that perfect blend of sweet and sour; and cherry, bright and engaging in both color and taste. At the senior center, the lucky folks there got to enjoy slices of coconut custard, delicate and rich [the Grand Dame of pie]; and Dutch apple, a crumb topping the perfect foil for the soft, tart apples tucked inside.
Here’s a link to the story on the local pie-friendly TV station, KRQE.
And, here’s a special shout-out to two Pie Pals who did this generous work with me: Sandy Bryan and Havens Levitt. Both are regular contestants and winners at the NM State Fair Pie Contest. Both are community-minded and have hearts the size of, well, a big ol’ pie. Thank you, Havens and Sandy!
Wouldn’t it be fun to line up a whole bunch of pie bakers next year, each with pies ready to deliver to their favorite local heroes? What if we did that in communities all over the world?
We’ve started a new tradition. I can hardly wait for next year.
Rebecca Dakota
Pie Advocate
Pie Pal #1
