RICHMOND HILL, Ga. (WSAV) – A local military family went above and beyond in February to help a veteran with a special request: deliver a handmade key lime pie to a fellow veteran in need.
Pastry Chef Jenniffer Santana, a veteran who served in the Army and the spouse of an active duty military member, spoke with WSAV NOW about why her family not only chose to make the delivery for this order but to do it for free.
Santana works for All Things Chocolate and More in Richmond Hill. She said that she was told to call a man who had contacted the shop about getting a last-minute pie.
“I didn’t understand what all was going on,” she said. But, she called the man anyways. What he told her moved her to tears.
“I start taking the order like always,” she explained. Then, she listened to what the man who was ordering had to say.
He needed a pie for a fellow veteran who was sick. He was worried that if they didn’t get the key lime pie to the man in the next few days, they would miss out on the opportunity for him to have it entirely.
They didn’t know if he was going to make it long enough to get the pie at a later date. It had to be made as soon as possible and delivered quickly.
“We need it right away,” the man had said.
“I’m gonna do it.” Santana recalled saying, “He’s gonna have that pie by tomorrow.”
She raced to the store, getting all of the ingredients necessary to create one of her delicious key lime pies.
She talked to her husband about the situation. He is currently stationed in Kentucky, while she lives in Richmond Hill with their two children.
“He just wanted to buy the pie for this guy and do everything,” she said. “We decided as a family just to [give it] as a gift.”
She said that even though they didn’t know the man who received the pie, nor the friend in Connecticut who called, they felt a need to support their fellow military community members.
She made the pie, packed it up and brought it to its recipient.
“He gave me a big hug and I felt like, ‘You know what? It’s OK.'” she said.
The original caller who lives in Connecticut posted his version of the story, where he stated that his friend said it was the best pie he had ever eaten.
