The New York City-based nonprofit Slice Out Hunger is partnering with pizzerias across the United States to donate freshly made local pizza to people in need.
Through the partnership, each pizza restaurant pledges to deliver a total of 30 pies per year to a local hunger relief charity or to raise $300 for such a charity. Slice Out Hunger can match pizzerias with a specific organization to donate to, such as a local soup kitchen, shelter, or food bank.
People can also donate pizzas they made at home. In that case, they agree to donate at least 15 pizzas or $150 or do hunger-relief volunteer work for 15 hours in a year.
Courtesy of Vincent Sbarro
The website says partnering with them costs nothing and that it’s a pledge to do good in one’s community.
“I decided to join [Slice Out Hunger] because I love what they’re about first and foremost, feeding the hungry kids,” Vincent Sbarro, owner of Vinnie’s Pizzeria in Martinez, California, told The Epoch Times.
He said giving back also helps him to keep in touch with everybody in the pizza industry.
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“Which is always a positive while running a pizzeria,” he said.
Vincent Sbarro. Courtesy of Vincent Sbarro
He said his first donation was to a group of children at a summer camp put on by a local organization that helps individuals and families struggling with homelessness to find long-term housing.
Slice Out Hunger’s website says that if you operate or are connected to a shelter, soup kitchen, senior center, food bank, or any other hunger relief organization, you can request a pizza delivery donation.
According to an analysis by Feeding America, 47 million people in the United States face food insecurity.
Being in the industry, Sbarro said he has a lot of friends with pizzerias throughout the world that he stays connected with through social media, and he sees many of them once a year at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. He said that’s where he met the founder and director of Slice Out Hunger, Scott Wiener.
Sbarro said Wiener’s a “great guy” with a great organization and lots of knowledge in the pizza industry.
Wiener told The Epoch Times: “Slice Out Hunger grew because it energized people. I just followed what worked, and this program seemed to work well at organizing people and helping those in need. Now it’s its own nonprofit, and I feel very fulfilled running it.”
He said that anybody can donate money, but making pizza a part of the process gives it more energy and excitement.
“Pizza provides emotional support as well as hunger relief. It’s a win-win!” he said.
Scott Wiener. Courtesy of Scott Wiener
He said Slice Out Hunger works mainly with independent pizzerias and has more than 750 pizza partners across the country. Additionally, it partners with 10 international pizzerias, according to the website.
He said that it’s important to him that community is considered when running a business. So when he started a company called Scott’s Pizza Tours, “it only made sense to include an action that gave back to my neighbors,” he said.
According to the Scott’s Pizza Tours website, the company was established in 2008. Its tours take people through New York City’s pizza culture by visiting some of its best pizzerias.
It says the tours support small businesses by purchasing food while the tour guides share stories of the pizzerias. They do their research to make sure they get the stories straight, the website states.
“You may think pizza is just the world’s most delicious food, but it’s really science, history, culture, people ... and also cheese,” the website says.
Pizza. Courtesy of Vincent Sbarro
Wiener said that he always loved visiting pizzerias and analyzing their differences. He said his friends thought it was fun to go to pizzerias with him because it would be a whole experience rather than just a place to get food.
“I get fired up watching people discover more about themselves as they learn more about pizza,” he said.
He said pizza is a great unifier and it’s something we all have in common. He said we all have our own opinions on it and we’re all right about those opinions. He thinks that’s why friendships don’t go south just because we disagree about who has the best pizza.
Pizza. Courtesy of Vincent Sbarro
His personal favorite is a good New York slice, just cheese, no toppings, he said.
“[Pizza is] a beautiful food with a beautiful story, and I’m just so delighted to exist in a world that has it,” he said.
According to Slice Out Hunger’s website, a Pizza Across America campaign takes place during the week of Feb. 9, 2025, which is National Pizza Day. That week, participating pizza makers donate at least 10 pizzas each to local hunger relief centers.
The website states that Pizza Across America was created by Michael and Nicky Testa, known as the Jersey Pizza Boys, when they were 13 and 11 years old. They teamed up with Slice Out Hunger in 2018 with the goal of delivering pizza in all 50 states to people in need.
Pizza. Courtesy of Vincent Sbarro
