Julie Vassilatos and Kate Agarwal tell the story of attending the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest in 2011, which inspired them to launch their own pie baking competition in 2012, on the South Side, where they lived.  Julie and Kate started a beloved tradition of showcasing excellent local bakers of all ages, putting on a feel-good event for anyone who enjoys a good piece of pie, and raising money for the Hyde Park/Kenwood Interfaith Council Hunger Programs.

For a decade, even during the height of the global pandemic, Julie and Kate worked hard to help their South Side community support hunger causes and celebrate pie and their community, joyfully. To date, the South Side Pie Challenge has raised over $35,000 for South Side hunger causes, with over $8,700 raised in 2022 alone.

In 2022, four new Hyde Park volunteers stepped into fill the shoes Julie and Kate offered after their decade of creativity and dedication. In 2023, we’ve added a fifth member of our group.

Once again, we invite all bakers to bring us their best. Our contest seeks to highlight the best amateur bakers of the South Side, bringing together chefs who share their pastry expertise as judges, local youth who volunteer to serve pie or sell tickets, talented home bakers young and old, South Side businesses and individuals who support our event, and hundreds of neighbors who join us each year to celebrate pie.

As always, donations to the 2023 South Side Pie Challenge will go directly to help people in our neighborhood who struggle with food insecurity.

Please join us as a contestant, or a pie eater on November 5 from 2 to 5 p.m. We look forward to seeing you!