Pizza Today - February 2025 - 54

founder Tyson Cook. " This week alone
I had six requests for free team dinners. "
The pizzerias need to know the number
of kids and adults to feed, and the
date and time the parent or athlete will
pick up the pizzas, as the busy locations
will not deliver these free pies. Champ
Pizza even accommodates requests for
gluten-free pizza, which Cook says
happens with almost every team order.
A typical week might include requests
for a 25-person cross country team, 150
kids at a marching band camp, and a
football team with 100 team
members. The pizzerias send
enough pizza for two or
three slices per person, and
asks the school to include
Champ Pizza in social
media, such as by posting
photos of the team eating
pizza.
" We put the focus on
local athletes, " says Cook,
who opened the first Champ
Pizza location four years ago.
" They need all the help they
can get. Our school district got hit hard
with budget cuts. "
A new initiative for Champ Pizza is
to provide pizzas to the concessions at
local high school sports. The schools
raise money by selling slices for $2 to
$3 during games. The pizzeria provides
the pizzas for free, and in return, the
school puts up a Champ Pizza banner
on the field. Also, the proceeds must go
to athletics-related expenses, such as
sending the wrestling team to a tournament
or paying for cleats for students
who cannot afford them.
Cook says he is very liberal with giving
out pizzas, but he does not donate
money. The food-only strategy has
benefited the schools and the pizzerias.
" I often get parents who order from us
and say, 'I saw you donated to my kid's
soccer team,' " he says. " We built a lot of
loyalty because of that. "
LOYALTY CAN LAST A LONG TIME.
Annie's Pizza in Coral Springs, Florida,
has been sponsoring teams for 24 years.
" It helps out the community, and it
helps out parents because it keeps costs
down, " says owner Bobby DeFroscia.
54 / PIZZATODAY.COM / FEBRUARY 2025
" We sponsor teams and then years later
the kids come work for us. Their picture
is still on the wall. "
The high school teams include football,
baseball, cheerleading and others.
The schools offer different sponsorship
packages, DeFroscia says, such as
paying $500 to have an Annie's Pizza
banner on the field, the name of the
pizzeria mentioned in an announcement
during the game, and posts on
the team's social media. " Some of the
sponsorship goes towards uniforms, " he
if everyone took care of their corner of
the world? "
Open since 1986, Dayton's Original
Pizza Factory's corner of the world is
the two-mile radius delivery area, which
Daniels uses as the geographical limit
when selecting schools or events to
support. " We don't use third-party
delivery, " he says. " We look at our
primary delivery area as our neighborhood. "
One
nearby art-focused high school
" It helps out the community, and
it helps out parents because it
keeps costs down. "
BOBBY DEFROSCIA
ANNIE'S PIZZA IN CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA
says. " The money you are giving them
is being used, not just going into a bank
account. "
Annie's Pizza also participates in
community events, such as Coral
Springs' Largest Pizza Party celebration
of its 60th anniversary in 2023. The city
paid a discounted rate to area pizzerias
to provide pizzas, and the city gave out
free slices to thousands of event attendees.
" We knew weeks prior we would
prepare a couple hundred pizzas, "
DeFroscia says. " We sent 25 pies every
half hour to keep up with demand. "
Donating food for nonprofits' fundraisers
is another way to engage with
the community. Last October Annie's
Pizza donated 2,000 garlic rolls to the
Coral Springs Fire Department for its
pasta dinner, a fundraising event for a
local breast cancer nonprofit.
ONE KEY TO SUCCESS IS TO
FOCUS ON THE PIZZERIA'S SURROUNDING
AREA. " The whole idea
is to think locally and act locally, "
says Bill Daniels, owner of Dayton's
Original Pizza Factory in Dayton,
Ohio. " Wouldn't it be a beautiful world
has after-school activities Monday
through Thursday. The pizzeria
provided heavily discounted
pizzas, and the school
sold slices to raise money for
the prom. Dayton's Original
Pizza Factory has been doing
that for more than 20 years,
Daniels says, to help the
students and staff members
enjoy a nice formal event.
Dayton's Original Pizza
Factory supports local sports
teams and also hosts pizza
parties for the coaches, volunteers
and referees. The pizzeria also
provides food for events hosted by local
nonprofits, such as a recent dinner for
donors of a charity that the pizzeria
has supported for years. The restaurant
sent pizza, which the event caterer cut
into smaller slices and served as hors
d'oeuvres.
Daniels finds out about local nonprofits
from reading the neighborhood
newsletters, and by asking employees if
they have a charity they are supporting.
" If they believe in something, chances
are it's legit and worthwhile, " he says.
The pizzeria's point of sale system has
a way to enter the donations to make
tracking expenses easier, but Daniels is
not worried about how much money he
is spending on community pizza.
" It's become something that is really
gratifying, " Daniels says. " Pizza can't
change your life, but it can make your
day brighter. "
NORA CALEY is a freelance writer who
covers small business, finance and lifestyle
topics.
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - February 2025

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