A pie could help provide a meal for those in need this Thanksgiving

A Philadelphia-based group is selling holiday pies to help those in need have a healthy gourmet meal this Thanksgiving.

A slice of pumpkin pie. (Element5 Digital/Unsplash)

A slice of pumpkin pie. (Element5 Digital/Unsplash)

An organization that helps those in need is seeking some financial help from the public with a tasty treat as the reward.

MANNA, or Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance, gives meals to people who are critically ill. MANNA is running its annual pie sale, selling Thanksgiving pies to raise money to provide people with warm, gourmet meals for the holiday.

Sue Daugherty, CEO of MANNA said their Pie in the Sky event is designed to help those in need. “Our goal is to bake and sell 11,000 pies so that on Thanksgiving Day, all of our clients that we serve at MANNA, who are sick and battling life-threatening illnesses, can … serve a gourmet Thanksgiving meal for four and deliver it to their homes, so no one’s alone. And that is only possible through the help and support of people purchasing pies.”

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Daugherty said they have seven different types of pie this year.

“We have a berry pie. We have a gluten-free blueberry pie that is almost sold out. That’s going fast. Pumpkin pie; a pecan pie; a sky pie, which is this amazingly decadent chocolate cheesecake pie; sweet potato pie; and an apple pie.”

The pies are $30, except for the sky pie and the gluten-free offerings which are $35.

To get involved, Daugherty says, “the easiest thing to do is you can go to mannapies.org, select your pie, and then the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we have pickup sites all across the Philadelphia metropolitan area. You select where you’re going to pick up your pie [at] pickup sites or drive-thrus, and we make it as convenient as possible to get your pie. And so you get a delicious pie on Thanksgiving Day and you know you’re making a difference in someone’s life.”

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Daugherty said they bake the pies in the same kitchens where they create the meals to help those in need, but the pies are baked on the weekend when the kitchens are usually not operational.

“We used to do them overnight, but pretty much because of our kitchens fully going during the week with our medically tailored program, the only time that they can do the pies is on the weekends,” said Dougherty.

The group is looking to top the 11,000 mark, a few hundred more than last year, said Daugherty. She said if people are looking for gluten-free pies, it’s better to order immediately. The last day for ordering is November 19.

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