No one knows exactly when the annual apple pie fundraiser began at Trinity United Church in downtown North Bay.
The best guess is that volunteers have been coming together for over 20 years to make and sell the famous pies.
This major fundraiser sells out early every year, raising between $15,000 and $16,000 for church projects.
“The last year of course a lot of the money raised has gone to repairing the roof,” said Darlene Laferriere Apple Pie Committee chair.
“For the past five years, we have actually been making about 1,600 pies to sell. They are all pre-ordered and cost $10 each. Many of the materials we use to construct the pies are donated, or people give donations to the apple pie project. We usually have up to 70 volunteers helping us during our apple pie week.”
It begins with a group of volunteers travelling to an orchard near Collingwood to pick apples.
“So, we have a reduced rate on how much we have to pay for the apples. We pick 90 bushels of apples that are all washed and peeled and made into pies.”
But it is a different world since last year’s fundraiser.
Due to COVID-19, the committee has decided to cancel the year’s fundraiser.
“We looked at a number of ways that we could possibly make this work and we really felt that we couldn’t do it safely. There are too many people in a small space to make it safe,” said Laferriere.
“So, we’ve decided this year we have to cancel making pies. But we’re giving people an opportunity to purchase a non-pie. So, for the same price of $10, or multiples thereof, you can purchase non-apple pies and make a donation to Trinity United Church for a full tax receipt. We’ll also give you the Trinity apple pie recipe if you want to do it yourself and make an apple pie at home.”
Non-bakers will be taken through the pie-making and baking process.
“We’ll be doing a little YouTube video, a tutorial on how to do that. The tutorial is going to be a little tongue in cheek. It will be a lot of fun for people to watch. We also hope that will encourage them to make a donation to the church. We don’t want to lose the essence of this project because we plan on coming back next year stronger than ever.”
The tutorial will be available toward the end of September by going here.
It is an opportunity for families to spend quality time together making memories.
“We’re coming up with other creative ideas on ways we can raise funds. So, stay tuned for some other yummy events that we might have coming up,” laughed Laferriere.
