Sometimes charity doesn’t look like writing a big cheque or hosting a glitzy event. Sometimes it looks like a bag of apples.
The week before last, Chloe and I paid a visit to the MK SNAP café. We stopped for coffee and cake — which was delicious — and while we were there, we also bought several kilograms of apples. These weren’t just any apples; they had been specially picked for us by two of the learners from the café team. It felt like such a simple exchange — £5 for a bag of fruit — but the story of those apples doesn’t end there.
Back at home, I set to work. Half of the apples are being cooked down into filling for crumbles, which will be sold in portions at the STRAW Stopsley Scarecrow Festival. This year’s festival is being hosted at Haverings, the Luton South Division Girlguiding Headquarters, and it has a nominated charity beneficiary. So those apples, once tucked into a crumble and baked, will help raise money for a cause close to the community’s heart.
The other half of the apples are destined for apple jelly. And, since Chloe and I also went blackberrying that very afternoon, we’ll be making blackberry jam too. These jars will go towards Chloe’s fundraising efforts for her trip to Gibraltar next summer with Girlguiding. She has a target to reach, and we’ve been digging around to find all sorts of creative ways to help her along. Making something homemade and meaningful feels like a good start.
When you pause to look at it, those apples have set off quite a chain of giving. They were grown and harvested by MK SNAP, an amazing charity that Gordon has supported as both a volunteer (for almost a year) and now as a member of staff. They’re being baked into crumbles to raise money at a community festival. They’re being simmered into jelly to support Chloe’s personal fundraising goals.
It’s a reminder that charity isn’t always about grand gestures. It can be found in everyday acts — a visit to a café, a walk to pick berries, an afternoon in the kitchen. It’s about using what you have, with love and care, to make a difference.
And that brings me back to the title of this piece: Humble Pie. Because what could be more humble than a bag of apples? Yet, handled with a little effort, they’ve become something that brings joy, nourishment, and support to others.
Perhaps that’s the essence of charity: not about being showy or grand, but about being thoughtful, creative, and willing to turn small things into something bigger. One crumble, one jar of jam, one bag of apples at a time.