When Michigan native Sarah Fertig heard Senator Elizabeth Warren speak about paying it forward, she became inspired to give back and what started as a Facebook post, that used a pie metaphor, quickly became a full-time job for Fertig and her fiancé Chis Kovav.
According to the Huffington Post, the 28-year-old took to her Facebook to share her thoughts in support of Warren's message.
"I said, 'I made a pie, but I didn't plant the apple trees; I didn't milk the cow or churn the butter; I didn't harvest the wheat; I didn't build the grocery store," Fertig wrote. "All these other people had to work really hard before I could assemble the pie. I don't have the right to say this is my pie, and no one else can have any."
Fertig wanted to spend more time giving back and less time "arguing with people on the Internet," so she began giving away pies to passerbys at Ann Arbor's Liberty Plaza. Most went to the homeless, who spent most of their time in the park; but the rest went to people heading to class or work.
The couple spent a total of 18 weeks in the park, giving away pies, before deciding to take "Pie it Forward" on the road. After quitting their jobs, Fertig a supervisor at a homeless shelter and Kovac, a local butcher, the couple used their tax refunds and donations of $10-$25 collected through PayPal or in-person, to fund a 30-city trip across America.
The couple also accepted donations of flour, sugar and butter and went to local markets to ask for cosmetically undesirable fruits. Fertig began with store bought pies, but by the third tour stop, started making the pies from starch.
"Pie crust, I thought, was this arcane secret that had to be handed down from grandmother to granddaughter," Fertig said. "But it turns out; you can just learn it in a book."
Fertig's pie flavors include apple, blueberry, peach, peanut butter cream and banana cream; she even tried cantaloupe when she stopped in Birmingham, Alabama. The couple gave out over 250 pies along with the way and hopes to continue giving free food to everyone and anyone who needs or wants it.
Since completing the tour, the couple has been working on getting donations for a food-truck.
"We're just doing this for kindness and generosity, trying to inspire people to help on another out," Fertig said. "There's no agenda other than people should be nicer to each other."
Fertig admitted that while the concept was politically inspired, "Pie it Forward" is not affiliated with any one party.
