9:14 a.m., Nov. 24, 2009----The enthusiasm of volunteers preparing homemade pies for the needy for Thanksgiving was as palatable as the pleasant smell of home cooking that filled the air during the fifth annual University of Delaware McNair Scholars Program Piepalooza, held Friday, Nov. 20, in the St. Thomas More Oratory.

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Showing their UD spirit, some 40 blue and gold clad volunteers turned bakers peeled apples, mixed batches of crust and added crumb toppings while baking 250 pies earmarked for local charities and community agencies.

Working a shift that began at 9 a.m. and would probably run close to midnight, students also packed the finished products for delivery in time for the holiday season.

Besides five years helping to bring the holiday spirit to those in need, the McNair Program Piepalooza also marked some other notable milestones, Maria Palacas, program director, said.

“One heartwarming aspect of this story is that a number of McNair Scholars have, at some point in their lives, eaten Thanksgiving dinner at the very shelters for which we bake,” Palacas said. “This year set a record for the number of requests for pies, as well as for the amount of community support and engagement for the project.”

Grace Chou, a graduate student in the College of Education and Public Policy, was involved in piepalooza as an undergraduate and served as a planner for this year's pie-making extravaganza.

“Planning for something like this starts at beginning of the fall semester, when we write letters to potential donors, make phone calls and follow up with an in-person visit,” Chou said. “It's a long process. We wait for them to give us a call. This year we really were blessed with the number of donors who wanted to help us.”

Joining private donors who contributed goods and financial support, baking supplies and ingredients were donated by Acme, BJ's, Food Lion, Giant, Newark Natural Foods Cooperative, Pathmark, Safeway, Sweet & Sassy Cupcakes, Walgreens, Target, Walmart and U.S. Foods.

Joe Stanley, a senior with a double major in political science and international relations and philosophy, was the student coordinator for the event.

“It's been very interesting,” Stanley said. “We are really trying to spread the spirit of compassion to the needy, because we recognize their need and that the holiday season is especially tough for people who have lost their jobs.”

Longtime recipients include Emmanuel Dining Room, House of Joseph, Mary Mother of Hope House I, St. Patrick's Center and Friendship House, all of Wilmington.

New recipients include Meals on Wheels in Newark, the Food Bank of Delaware, Mary Mother of Hope House II and III, both in Wilmington, Emmaus House in Newark, Ronald McDonald House, Meeting Ground in Elkton, Md. and Homeward Bound in Newark.

The UD McNair Scholars Program Piepalooza also is a time for volunteers to share the holiday spirit, listen to a really diverse playlist of favorite tunes including “Heat Wave,” by Martha and the Vandellas, and to take breaks for snacks and sandwiches.

Yael Hernandez, a senior music education major, was lending a hand at the pumpkin mixing station where the popular fall treat was mixed with sugar, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and other ingredients waiting to be poured into some 80 pie shells.

“I absolutely love it,” Hernandez said. “Thanksgiving is such a blessing, and I'm glad to do something like this to help somebody else.”

Frank Bloodsworth, a senior civil engineering major, said, “If I were in a similar situation that others are in because of something that happened to me, I would like to know that somebody else would be doing something like this for me.”

St. Thomas More Oratory welcomed the volunteers and provided cooing utensils, space and ovens. Oratory staff member Kim Zitzner, said, “This is an awesome group of volunteers who are doing a great job. The oratory is happy to lend space to such a great cause.”

Ingredients for the traditional pumpkin, Dutch apple and lattice topped cherry pies included 150 pounds of flour, 100 pounds of sugar, four pounds of sugar alternative for diabetic recipients of the pies, and 50 pounds of butter.

Don't forget 80 cans of evaporated milk, 18 dozen eggs, a half gallon lemon juice a gallon of apple cider, a pound of salt and a gallon of milk. Add to the above 30 pounds of Crisco, 120 pounds of pumpkins and 180 pounds of cherry filling, five pounds of cinnamon, a sprinkling of nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ginger, eight bushels of apples, and you have the perfect recipe for holiday giving.

But the main ingredient, the one that best spreads the Thanksgiving message of blessings and helping others, Palacas noted, is the “spirit of McNair love that goes into each of the 250 pies we are making here today.”

“As members of the academic community, we have to also be compassionate and care for each other,” Palacas. “The students and faculty advisers have responded because they are thankful for what they have, and also for the chance to support others. This really is the best example of the McNair spirit.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Evan Krape