FARMINGTON — Most Monday mornings find a group of women busy in the kitchen at Henderson Memorial Baptist Church peeling, measuring, mixing and rolling to support three local food pantries.

Margie Austin of Chesterville at left and Becky Jasch from Farmington peel and cut apples Monday morning, Nov. 4, for a food pantry frozen pie sale fundraiser at Henderson Memorial Baptist Church in Farmington. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

The end result is a freezer full of unbaked pies community members can order to purchase for $15 each, take home and bake when needed. Apple, blueberry, triple berry and strawberry-rhubarb are available to purchase now, with pumpkin and chocolate pies – which can’t be frozen – available the week of Thanksgiving.

“The local food pantries, especially St. Joseph’s Nutrition Center are down,” Gladys Russell said. “St. Joe’s is no longer receiving food from the Good Shepherd Food Bank [in Auburn], now they rely just on donations.”

Pie sale proceeds will go to the Center, Regional School Unit 9 Community Food Pantry – which provides food for area students’ families – and the Care and Share Food Closet in Fairbanks, Russell noted. “We will divide up what we get and share it with the food pantries,” she said. “They are all hurting. I have learned the food pantry in Fairbanks, they are not going to give out turkeys this year. We thought we could at least generate some funds to support the food pantries through pie sales.”

Kris Pottle from New Sharon at left and Gladys Russell of Farmington make apple pies Monday morning, Nov. 4, to freeze and sell to support three area food pantries at Henderson Memorial Baptist Church in Farmington. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

If anyone is interested in learning how to make pies or wants to volunteer to help they can call the church at 207-778-2163 and ask about it, Russell said. Peeling apples, making crust, and stirring fillings are tasks needed for making the pies, she noted.

Each pie comes with a homemade crust made using a food processer. Boothby’s Farm Market and Orchard in Livermore donated three bushels of Cortland apples for the fundraiser, “which was very generous of them,” Russell said.

Recipes for the pies come from Elizabeth Smith of Farmington, a longtime member of Henderson Memorial Baptist Church. “Years ago she started this whole pie making as a church fundraiser and she had all these recipes,” Russell stated. “Some were written on the back of paper placemats.”

Elaine Najarian of Farmington got the church ladies “going on making pies again,” Russell said. Kathy Wells, a member of St. Joe’s from Wilton is part of the pie making group and Henderson’s secretary Mary Cornelio also helps, she noted.

Elaine Najarian of Farmington measures blueberries Monday morning, Nov. 4, for a pie at Henderson Memorial Baptist Church in Farmington. Frozen, unbaked pies are being sold to support three area food pantries. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

People wanting to buy a pie can call Cornelio at the church to arrange pick up time. Each pie comes with printed instructions on how to bake it. “If someone can’t cook a pie, we will with a special request,” Russell said.

Pie sales will continue through the month of November into the first part of December, Russell stated. The group plans to gather every Monday, although pies won’t always be made, she said. “Long term, maybe this winter we are hoping to offer some simple food classes for people to learn how to make bread or rolls,” she noted. “People will be given squash at the food pantry and they don’t know how to cook it. At the food pantry people are given a lot of fresh produce. They don’t know what to do with it, how to prepare it.” The group could perhaps help with that, she added.

For more information or to order pies, call the church at 207-778-2163.