Freedom Apple Pie
Volunteers turned fruit donated to the truckers into spectacular dessert.
Much of the food that was donated to the Freedom Convoy had yet to be consumed when police violently shut down the protest. Much of it got wasted when equipment and cooking tents were unceremoniously trashed by authorities who, within hours, turned downtown Ottawa into a desolate landscape dominated by police checkpoints.
Amongst the uneaten food stored at other locations were numerous bushels of apples, many of which had become bruised. One of the truckers who protested in Ottawa made a couple trips back to that city shortly afterward, from his home in southern Ontario six hours away.
On one of those occasions, he rescued these apples so they wouldn’t be discarded. Afterward, with the help of volunteers Benita Boerma, Julie Veenstra, and several others, the apples were transformed into pie. The team spent eight hours one day peeling, coring, and slicing. Sugar, spice, and other good things were added. The result of all that labour: tubs upon tubs of pie filling.
A second full day was devoted to preparing pastry, filling the shells, and adding a crumble or pastry top. In total, these apples produced more than 600 pies. They were then wrapped in plastic, boxed up, frozen, and sold for $15 a piece (two for $25). Proceeds were first used for convoy-related events in southern Ontario. More recently, the funds are being donated to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.
I heard about these pies while conducting interviews. My husband and I served them this weekend, as part of our Thanksgiving feast :-)
That is REALLY something to give thanks for - a Freedom apple pie for Thanksgiving!