While most high school classes are selling shirts to raise money, the junior class is breaking the trend with its third annual pie fundraiser. Made fresh in the farm kitchen of Gizdich Ranch of Watsonville, students can choose from apple, olallieberry, pumpkin and raspberry flavors.

The fundraising idea came from junior Alicia Bena’s mother, who works at Palo Alto High School (Paly). Although it was first implemented at Paly, she brought the idea over when Alicia started going to Gunn. “My mother introduced the idea to [former Student Activities Director] Nik Kaestner when I started here as a freshman, with the idea that the class of 2008 would have rights over the sale every year until they graduated,” Bena said. Her mother continues to pick up the pies for both high schools.

For the past two years the junior class council has sold the pies, and the profit has gone directly to the class account. “The money from this account goes to class bonding and class unity activities, our class’s graduation, grad night, our gift to the school when we graduate and anything else our class decides to spend on,” junior class president Max Keeler said.

Selling the pies on campus does not contradict school food-selling policy. “The pies are not able to served and eaten during the school day,” Student Activities Director Lisa Hall said. “The purpose is to eat them later as part of the holiday festivities.”

Fruits used in the pies are grown on the Ranch itself. “Olallieberry is a sweet blackberry that we developed and grew ourselves,” Gizdich Ranch spokeswoman Naomi Manger said. “We grow the fruits, harvest them and freeze them. Then we can use them all year long.” The pies on sale right now have been made almost completely with this year’s harvest. “Harvest was pretty good, considering we had a bad winter,” Manger said. “So now we are already using this year’s fruit in our delicious pies.”

Although some of the recipes for the pies have been passed down from previous generations, all were also developed by the Ranch. “We’ve had the apple pie recipe for a long time, but we only created a sugar-free version two years ago,” Manger said. The ranch produces around 100 pies a day, and from 500 to 700 pies per week.

Those responsible for the fundraiser feel a strong personal affinity for pie. “I personally love pie, and I know many other people do, too,” Keeler said. “This fundraiser is a great way for people to get a delicious holiday treat while at the same time supporting the junior class.

Hall agrees. “I think the pie fundraiser has the potential to be a huge success,” she said. “It is a unique idea and provides people with a nice dessert option for their holiday celebrations, particularly since you can save them until you are ready to bake them.”

However, the high price of each pie ($16) combined with the pre-ordering policy has kept many students from buying them. “It might be kind of discouraging to have people pre-order the pies, since they don’t get pies immediately,” Keeler said. Pre-ordered pies will come individually boxed this Thursday.

In the past two years that the pies were sold, they only raised from $200 to $300. “There is somewhat of a challenge in selling them,” Keeler said. “[Junior vice president] Tara Levens and I put up announcements all over the school and online, but we just haven’t sold as many as we have hoped to.”

Although the fundraiser did not raise substantial income, students and teachers alike would like to see similar fundraisers in the future. “I think that selling food is always a good idea,” junior Kevin Yao said.