MIT Pi Day: Behind the Scenes of Baking 30 Pies

MIT Pi Day: Behind the Scenes of Baking 30 Pies

April 17, 2026

Walking through Cambridge on a brisk April morning, the air still carrying that distinct mix of Charles River dampness and old brick warmth, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of students huddled outside Building 7, not with problem sets this time, but with pie plates in hand. It’s April 17th, 2026 and while Pi Day officially passed back in March, the echo of Ellie F. ’28’s monumental pie project is still reverberating through the MIT community—and frankly, it’s got me thinking about what this kind of grassroots, food-fueled ingenuity could look like if transplanted to another innovation hub, say, Austin, Texas.

Ellie’s story, as told in her own words on the MIT Admissions blog, began not with a grand vision but with a simple, slightly reckless pitch made during IAP: what if we baked 30 pies for the class of 2030, each representing a different facet of MIT life? What started as a “bad ideas flavored blog” concept evolved into a full-scale logistical opera, complete with spreadsheets, volunteer coordination, and a deep dive into the Institute’s own rich, if often overlooked, history with food science. She dug into archives, uncovering how Professor Samuel Cate Prescott and William Underwood once volunteered their time on food safety research that helped shape modern preservation techniques—work they deliberately left unpatented for public good. That ethos, that quiet commitment to sharing knowledge freely, is what Ellie channeled as she coordinated ingredient sourcing, baking schedules, and the eventual assembly of those thirty unique pies, each a edible tribute to everything from dorm life (Simmons’ ballpit pie, anyone?) to legendary hacks.

What fascinates me isn’t just the sheer volume of pastry involved—though thirty pies is no small feat—but how Ellie framed the entire endeavor as an extension of MIT’s long-standing culture of hands-on, collaborative problem-solving. She referenced the now-defunct Course 20, the Food Technology program that ran from 1945 until its absorption into other departments in the 1980s, reminding us that MIT’s relationship with food isn’t just about late-night study snacks; it’s woven into the fabric of its scientific identity. This historical thread connects directly to Austin’s own evolving narrative as a city where tech innovation increasingly intersects with food systems, sustainability, and urban agriculture. Think about the work happening at the University of Texas at Austin’s Food Lab, or how local initiatives like the Sustainable Food Center are bridging gaps between tech talent and community food security—paralleling Prescott and Underwood’s open-source approach to food safety.

In Austin, a city that prides itself on its weirdness and its willingness to experiment, the spirit behind Ellie’s Pi Day project could find fertile ground. Imagine a similar initiative centered around the city’s diverse neighborhoods—each pie representing a different council district, from the historic East Sixth Street corridor to the tech-heavy Domain area, or even a pie inspired by the bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge. The logistics Ellie masterminded—backward planning from a hard deadline, ingredient sourcing spreadsheets, volunteer mobilization—are skills that translate directly to community organizing, whether it’s for a neighborhood festival, a disaster relief effort, or launching a local food co-op. Her emphasis on starting small (a forgotten email thread in February) and scaling through meticulous planning offers a blueprint for anyone looking to turn a quirky idea into tangible civic engagement.

Given my background in community-driven storytelling and local impact analysis, if this trend of hyper-local, food-based civic projects impacts you in Austin, here are the three types of local professionals you necessitate to connect with:

  • Urban Agriculture Coordinators: Look for professionals affiliated with organizations like the Sustainable Food Center or Farmshare Austin who understand zoning laws for urban farming, have experience managing volunteer networks for harvest events, and can help bridge the gap between food production and community education—essential if your pie project aims to source hyper-local ingredients.
  • Civic Engagement Specialists: Seek out individuals with backgrounds in municipal governance or nonprofit management, particularly those who’ve worked with the City of Austin’s Office of Innovation or similar entities. They should demonstrate expertise in navigating public space permits, coordinating with multiple stakeholders (like neighborhood associations or park conservancies), and designing inclusive outreach strategies that ensure broad participation across Austin’s diverse demographics.
  • Food Systems Historians & Storytellers: Prioritize locals connected to institutions like the Briscoe Center for American History at UT Austin or the Texas Foodways Project who can help ground your project in authentic regional narratives—whether that’s tracing the influence of Central Texas ranching on pie fillings or documenting the stories of immigrant bakeries in East Austin—adding layers of meaning that transform a fun event into a meaningful cultural artifact.

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