Beth Howard pulled up to Newtown in her 24-foot-long camper, loaded with 240 apple pies.

She dished out pie to kids from Sandy Hook Elementary School, grieving parents and anyone who asked.

She describes herself as an attaché for grief, with her greatest gift being pie “made from love.” Most people simply call her "the pie lady."

“Pie is meant to be shared,” she said. “It’s meant to be given away.”

As she spoke, there was a knock on her door. Women preparing a wake for one of the slain girls would like some pie for mourners.
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Dave Tuttle has a passion for pie. "Let's face it. Pie is wonderful stuff,” he says. “It makes people feel great.” And it would be hard for anyone to argue that point, after seeing and smelling one of his signature double crusted fruit pies as it emerges, hot and steaming, from the oven.

But Tuttle's passion grew more out of necessity than culinary curiosity. After a 20-year career in film and television, Tuttle found himself unemployed in 2008 during the height of the recession, as the industry was shedding jobs.

"For about a year, I really made it full time to try to find a job, to get back into the business because that's what I had known for 20 years," Tuttle says. But after that year, there was still no job, and even less savings. It was time to try something new.
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

It's an all-out pie palooza because March 14 is National Pi(e) Day!

Clever you, you've already figured out that today's date, 3/14, also corresponds to a famous mathematical constant you learned in school: 3.14, also known as pi. So it would stand to reason that today of all days is a great day to celebrate something of a similar name, pie.

In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed that yes, America, we should have a Pi Day, although it was celebrated beginning in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium. The staff and visitors would march about a circular space and eat fruit pies.

What's the usual way of celebrating Pi Day? Why indulging in your favorite pie and talking about the relevance of pi, of course! Pie eating contests are also welcome, or you can even make a pie with the pi symbol on it like our iReporters.
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It’s almost time to commemorate one of the most beloved and mysterious numbers in mathematics.

You know - Pi! The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is approximately 3.14. So on March 14 - or 3/14 - math fans and dessert lovers unite to celebrate Pi Day.

In honor of the holiday, we invite you to show off your best pie, or tell us about the tastiest one you've ever had. Sweet, savory, crunchy, creamy - we want them all. Include original photos and recipes, and we'll celebrate the beloved dessert March 14 on Eatocracy.

See the Pi Day Pie assignment on iReport

Need some inspiration? Sink your teeth into these pie posts.

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

How appealing! March 2 is National Banana Cream Pie Day.

Look up "creamy" or "dreamy" in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of this pie perfection. (OK, not really, but it should!)

Banana cream pie combines the best of all things sweet. The one-crust pie is full of a rich custard or pudding, made by whipping cream, eggs, milk, a bit of flour, and in this case, bananas or banana flavoring into pastry cream-esque magic. This stems from a key feature of French cakes and tarts, the lovely crème pâtissière.
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Such a sweet surprise – February 20 is National Cherry Pie Day!

As if you already didn't have enough reason to celebrate cherries out of season - it is National Cherry Month - this may be the sweetest excuse of all.

Tart, sweet cherry pie filling is swaddled in a golden, flaky crust that is a perfect complement to this hearty fruit. Morello cherries are a favorite amongst bakers for their sour cherry flavor. And when it's your pie, you control the sugar.
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Anthony Umrani is a CNN Senior Photojournalist based in Washington, D.C. He previously wrote about the menu at the National Museum of the American Indian.

February is Black History Month. February is also National Pie Month. What could one possibly have to do with the other, you might ask? Meet the bean pie - a sweet, delectable dessert made from navy beans.

The bean pie is a creation born out of the strict dietary code of the Nation of Islam, a religious black nationalist and social reform movement formed in the 1930s, led by Elijah Muhammad. In his book, "How To Eat To Live," Muhammad outlined a rather detailed and sometimes peculiar set of guidelines for eating, presumably designed to improve health and prolong life.

In accordance with Islamic law, pork was prohibited, but there was a list of other banned foods that could not be explained by any Islamic jurisprudence. Foods such as spinach, sweet potatoes and lima beans, which many nutritionists would agree are good healthy foods, were not allowed.
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Today celebrates a different kind of piety - December 1 is National Pie Day!

Is there a more fabulously festive way to kickstart December, THE month of holiday baking, than indulging in pie all day long? We think not, so strap on your apron and get bakin'!

Pie originally came to be out of necessity. During ancient times, soldiers and travelers needed a safe, easy way to transport enough food to sustain them for long periods of time without worrying about it spoiling. Wrapping meat, cheeses or even a honey filling in an early form of pastry, made using flour, water and fat, proved a handy way to get their meals on the run.
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Thanksgiving is exactly two weeks away - you've successfully tackled the fall squash, mashed potatoes like James Brown and reserved the appropriately sized bird for your guest list. You've even found time to craft your very own "bacon pig." Everything is shaping up nicely in apple-pie order - that is, until the word "pie" just sent you into a flour frenzy.

Although sweet, dessert can bring out the crustiness in the most pleasant of Thanksgiving hosts and hostesses. While pie crust is minimalistic in origin - flour, butter, ice water with a little sugar and salt thrown in for good measure - many home cooks find themselves thankful for the premade varieties this time of year.

If you're one of those put off by do-it-yourself pastry, just roll with this all-butter crust tutorial.
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The Tweet above comes from baking advocate @jestei after a Rupert Murdoch protester pelted the embattled media mogul with a pie that turned out to be filled with shaving foam. Might he soon have a chance to experiment crafting a cake with a file filling?

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