Amateur bakers and neighborhood residents gathered at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club on November 8 for the South Side Pie Challenge, an annual competition that raises money for the Hyde Park–Kenwood Food Pantry and the Feed the People program at Kenwood United UCC.
Described by the organizers as Chicago’s “longest-running juried amateur pie-baking event,” the competition has raised more than $75,000 for the pantry for over the past 14 years. Seventy-four bakers entered the competition this year, the highest number in the event’s history, and in an email to the *Maroon*, organizers reported a record $19,500 in proceeds from baker registration fees, tickets purchased by attendees, and direct donations.
Hundreds of attendees turned out for the Pie Challenge, with a line to purchase pie stretching around the block before doors even opened. Organizer Molly Herron said the turnout reflected the strength of the Hyde Park community.
“The amount of generosity in this neighborhood is incredible,” Herron told the *Maroon*.
Bakers competed in four categories: fruit, nut, cream, and pumpkin/sweet potato. A jury of eight judges evaluated the entries, including Chicago-area pastry professionals and food industry figures such as Ja’Net Winston, CEO of Sweet Pies by Ja’Net, and Sara Jelinek, the 2019 winner of the Chicago’s Best Baker contest. After evaluating the pies, the judges selected winners in each category and an overall grand champion. During the public tasting, attendees could purchase slices of competing pies for $5 each.
Co-organizer Rebekah Raeburn described the competition as a gathering that brings residents together around a shared purpose. “It’s kind of anti-capitalist because it’s us doing something good and spending time together around that good deed,” she said.
The Hyde Park–Kenwood Hunger Programs’ food pantry, which is housed at Hyde Park Union Church on 56th Street and Woodlawn Avenue, has grown from serving approximately 40 households each week before the COVID-19 pandemic to an average of 110 today, pantry director and Shailer Mathews Distinguished Service Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature Margaret Mitchell told the *Maroon*. During the first weekend of November 2025, when a government shutdown disrupted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the pantry served 164 households, its highest-ever number at the time.
Additional changes to SNAP eligibility and funding under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act have reduced enrollment in Illinois and increased pressure on local food pantries. Since the bill was passed last year, approximately 450,000 fewer Illinois residents are enrolled in SNAP, a 24 percentage-point decline that includes more than 100,000 children.
Mitchell said the effects of food insecurity extend beyond whether households have enough food for their immediate needs.
“Food insecurity isn’t just how much food you have in your fridge right now or what you’re going to eat tomorrow or the next day,” Mitchell said. “It’s also the worry: What about next week? What about the week after?”
For participants, the competition offered an opportunity to contribute to the pantry while sharing their baking with the neighborhood.
Among the attendees was Kimberly Brooks-Lee, who came to support her eight-year-old niece Michaela Grier, who came in third place in the competition’s nut category with her entry “Nutella Dream Supreme.” It was their first time attending the Pie Challenge.
“I’m impressed with how many people are here,” Brooks-Lee said. “It’s great that it’s for a good cause.”
As the pantry continues to serve more households, Mitchell said contributions from events like the Pie Challenge help sustain its ability to provide for residents throughout the year.
“This is just a fantastic neighborhood tradition that we all love, and it’s doing tangible good in the community by helping raise money that will be going out as fruits and vegetables in the weeks and months ahead,” Mitchell said.
