Bakers Unite to Help San Diegans Battling Critical Illnesses

<figure id="attachment_42563" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42563" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Photo_-Mamas-Ki… loading="lazy" src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Photo_-Mamas-Ki…; alt="" width="300" height="200" class="size-medium wp-image-42563" srcset="https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Photo_-… 300w, https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Photo_-… 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-42563" class="wp-caption-text">Photo courtesy of Mamas Kitchen</figcaption></figure>
Providing hundreds of pies to fundraise $134,000 might seem like a large task, but several bakeries in San Diego have risen to the challenge by planning to participate in the 2017 Mama’s Pie in the Sky Thanksgiving Bake Sale. 
The fundraiser will benefit Mama’s Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides nutritious meal services to individuals whom are susceptible to hunger due to HIV, cancer, or other critical illnesses. 
Mama’s Kitchen hopes to surpass the amount raised in pie sales and event sponsorship of $116,000 from the 2016 fundraiser. 
Currently 25 bakers have been confirmed to participate, but the nonprofit is asking for additional bakers to help with the effort. One bakery in particular will be participating for the first time this year and will offer pies made for people with food allergies. 
Starry Lane Bakery a bakery in Hillcrest will be donating pumpkin pies free of gluten, soy, dairy, eggs and other products. 
Co-owner Jaime Schwartz said the bake sale stood out to her because she saw it as an opportunity to help during the holidays and open the fundraiser to people with allergies. 
“I’m really happy that by participating in this fundraiser we are letting other people participate too who might not have been able to,” Schwartz said. 
Schwartz does not know how many pumpkin pies they will be donating but she said they might also donate gluten free pie crust to other bakeries so they can make different pies that they can not make at her bakery like pecan pies. 
“Mama’s Pie in the Sky has become a local tradition many San Diegans look forward to as they give thanks over the Thanksgiving holiday,” Alberto Cortes, executive director of Mama’s Kitchen, said in a press release. “Just one delicious $25 pie allows us to serve eight nutritious meals to our neighbors affected by HIV, cancer or other critical illnesses.” 
According to the press release, they hope to sell enough pies to fund more than 37,000 meals. In the past 27 years, they have served over eight million meals to men, women, and children in San Diego County. 
For breast cancer survivor Ellie Ramos, Mama’s Kitchen helped her during a time of need because while getting radiation treatment for her breast cancer, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and as a result of that, Ramos was wheelchair bound. 
She said that it was an enormous help to have the meals delivered especially because often she did not have enough energy to get up let alone go to the grocery store. 
“It was one of those validating experiences that there are phenomenal people in this world,” Ramos said. 
Pie sales will begin Oct. 9 and continue until Nov. 19, 2017. They are available for $25 each and can be purchased online via www.mamaspies.org or by phone order 619-233-6262. 
Flavors include pumpkin, apple, pecan and Dutch apple pies.