Cherry pies return to menu at Iowa State

Members of student organization, The Fashion Show sold miniature donuts at the Food & Fun Fest at the south MacKay entrance on Friday.  

Tianxin Wen

Nothing closes out a week like a refreshing cherry pie, and the College of Human Sciences was happy to provide them Friday during its first Food and Fun Fest.

The week-long celebration of Human Science Week concluded Friday with the Food and Fun Fest, which featured the college’s rich tradition of entrepreneurship. Iowa State’s famous cherry pies, which were previously sold during Veishea, made an appearance at the fest.

The Food and Fun Fest took place at the south entrance of MacKay Hall, and cherry pies were on sale for $2. More than 1,600 pies were produced this year for the celebration, and the money that was raised will all go back to the students.

“All the money will go for the student scholarships,” said John Kramer, coordinator of Joan Bice Underwood Tearoom and senior lecturer in apparel, events and hospitality management.

The students in hospitality management, as well as three faculty members, helped make the cherry pies by either filling in the crust or baking them. The cherry pies this year were also larger than previous years.

“We were doing cherry pies two or three years before the Veishea [celebration] ever started,” Kramer said. “This is the first time we have done [the cherry pies] in the fall. It used to be done in the spring. This year to celebrate the College of Human Science Week we re-established it. We hope to do it every fall, or maybe in the spring.”

In 1920, N. Beth Bailey, an ISU food instructor, suggested selling the small, open-face cherry pies with a dollop of whipped cream on top to raise money for Home Economic Club projects, according to the College of Human Sciences website.

For the apparel, events and hospitality management department, the kitchen and process of making cherry pies allow it to showcase itself to other students.

“Hopefully, they will get back to where they were actually in the kitchen and people could walk through,” Kramer said in regard to how the pies were made before the Veishea cancellation in the spring of 2014.

A book drive organized by the Social Justice Collective in the School of Education to benefit Raising Readers in Story County also took place during Human Sciences Week.

“You could either donate the money directly or donate the books we need,” said Allison Ann Schaffer, senior in elementary education, who raised money during Food and Fun Fest. 

Many ISU students donated money.

“All children should have books to read,” said Cheng Zhang, senior in management, who donated $100. “It is a meaningful event. I think I should donate money to people who are in need. That makes me feel good.”