As voters head to the polls Tuesday for a great ritual of our democracy, many will encounter another tradition that is not enshrined in the Constitution: Election Day bake sales, soup sales and lunches.
For many community organizations, the sales are fundraisers to support their missions, as reliable as Lenten fish frys or bingo games. In addition to feeding voters and anyone who stops by, these fundraisers are also ways to recognize the importance of free and fair elections.
In New Kensington, volunteers from the East Kensington Community Circle have held a sale on Election Day for decades, in both the primary and general elections. On Nov. 7, they’ll be set up at Martin Elementary School, the polling place across the street from their community hall. They’ll be serving hot dogs and sauerkraut, cabbage and noodles, hot sausage prepared by Marlene Shank and ham barbecue and lemon meringue pie made by Nellie Shirey.
Fran Uric and Shirey handle the dining room, and Eve Potts is in the kitchen preparing meals. Lorraine Mennitto and Bridget Conwell have delivered the meals for decades.
This year, they’ll remember the organization’s former president, Judy Barkasi, who made her family’s beef soup recipe for Election Day sales for decades. She died in November 2022, just a few weeks after the election.
“I knew if we didn’t continue to make the soup and other foods, my mom would be upset,” said her daughter, Tracy Freedline, an Arnold resident who is a trustee of the group.
Barkasi’s beef soup will be prepared this year according to her recipe. It will be for sale, along with the other goods, starting at 12:30 p.m.
The money raised is significant for the organization — last year, for example, they sold 177 quarts of soup at $8 each. They’ve used the money for blessing boxes, which have food and clothing items, and scholarships. They raised money to get supplies to troops by collaborating with Sam Lombardo through Cookies for Our Troops. They receive donations from local community merchants.
“We have great members and could not do this Election Day luncheon without all of them,” Freedline said. “The seniors lead the way. They are there for whatever is needed.”
At First Church of God in West Newton, Election Day sales have been a twice-yearly event for decades, said Pastor Beth Dunlap. They serve soup and other foods between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Election Day.
The church serves soups such as vegetable and broccoli cheddar, chili and ham barbecue sandwiches as well as hot dogs and chicken salad croissants and macaroni and potato salad, cakes and pies.
“We say, ‘Get out and vote — and then stop for something to eat,’ ” she quipped.
Above all, Dunlap welcomes the chance to gather as a community around the solemn task of voting.
“Find out who is running and what they stand for, and pray and ask God to guide you. It is so important,” she said. “People died for us to have the right to vote.”
In the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Highland Park, Pittsburgh Fulton Elementary School hosts a bake sale organized by the Parent Teacher Association. The sale is from 7 to 11 a.m. and from 4 p.m. until the polls close.
The school, which also serves as a polling place, is a magnet school with a French language emphasis. The organizers collaborate with the French bakery La Gourmandine, which donates items such as baguettes and pastries. Other items are made by volunteers, with vegan and gluten-free options as well as savory and sweet choices.
“This is wonderful of La Gourmandine and all of the volunteers, including the students, who bake and work the sale,” said Rebecca Maclean, president of the Parent Teacher Association. “It’s a fundraiser, but it also helps us get the word out to the children about how important it is to vote.”
They plan to use the money for events such as field trips, holiday shops and Black History Month community day.
