By Joshua Soto
Tuesday, February 9 is National Pizza Day, one of the favorite food holidays of the year. This year in celebration of the holiday, Michael DeNunzio and Brie DeNunzio, owners of “Fine Folk Pizza,” will join local pizzerias nationwide in the Pizza Across America campaign.
“As a member of this community, I wanted a way to give back to those who are left hungry due to the uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are fortunate enough to be in a position to make a difference in the fight against hunger,” states Mike.
Fine Folk Pizza, located at 11300 Lindbergh Blvd #114 in Fort Myers, will partner up with Community Cooperative to help its mobile pantries and help feed over 150 people during the week of February 8-14. The pizzeria will also donate an additional ten pies to the Harry Chapin Food Bank.
The Harry Chapin Food Bank saw spikes in families needing groceries and food due to current income lost to the pandemic. The organization said it was spending $1 million on food every month and delivering close to 2 million pounds of food.
The Pizza Across America campaign was first developed by World Pizza Champions member, Carmine Testa, with his sons, Michael and Nicky, known nationally as the Jersey Pizza Boys. The trio partnered with the non-profit Slice Out Hunger and kicked off the campaign in 2018.
Pizza Across America co-founder Carmine Testa thinks this program is an essential way for pizzerias, who depend on local customers, to give back and support their communities at the local level, even when restaurants are hurting.
“We must continue to give back to our community; the last thing we want is to see a child or a family go to bed with an empty stomach. We hope that this inspires others to take the time and donate to those in need during this time,” added Mike.
The process of delivering pizza donations in every state of the U.S. will be managed by Slice, a pizzeria marketing and delivery app, and the pizza- focused nonprofit Slice Out Hunger. When Testa and his sons first hatched the Pizza Across America idea, they brought it to Slice Out Hunger to handle logistics.
Pizzerias looking to participate can find more information at sliceouthunger.org.
ABOUT WORLD PIZZA CHAMPIONS
Since its inception, the World Pizza Champions™ team has grown into a U.S. based non-profit, multinational group made up of elite pizza professionals. Through international competition, educational outreach, public demonstrations, and community-based service, the team is dedicated to promoting pizza-making as a respected craft and viable career choice. http://www.worldpizzacham- pions.com
ABOUT SLICE OUT HUNGER
Slice Out Hunger is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization that produces pizza-related events and campaigns to support American hunger relief and prevention measures. The organization has raised over $1,000,000 to fund hunger relief efforts in the U.S. since 2009. Events and campaigns include Slice Out Hunger’s $1 Annual Pizza Party to raise funds for hunger relief in NYC, Pizza Across America to assist homeless shelters in the cold winter months, and various emergency campaigns when sudden needs arise.
ABOUT SLICE
Slice transforms independent pizzerias with the specialized technology, marketing, data insights, and shared services they need, all at a low fixed cost per order, to serve today’s digital-minded customers. Enabling these small businesses to thrive against major corporate chains, Slice makes it easy for customers to order from their go-to shops and discover their next favorite. Serial tech entrepreneur Ilir Sela started Slice to solve the digital challenges of his family’s New York City pizzerias. Today, the company keeps local thriving by partnering with over 14,000 pizzerias across 3,000 cities in all 50 states forming the nation’s largest marketplace for authentic pizza.
