Goodwill Dining: A pizza chef feeds homeless people for free
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:22
Who says kindness is dead? Former businessman and current pizza chef, Mason Wartman feeds the homeless of New York and Philadelphia – completely free of charge.
27 year-old, Mason Wartman quit his Wall Street job to become a pizza chef. He noticed how prosperous USD1 pizza (SGD1.50) shops are in Manhattan and decided to bring the concept to Philadelphia. At this point, he had no idea that he was going to gain national attention.
In December 2013, he opened Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, charging USD1 (SGD1.50) per slice but that’s not all. He decided to give his customers the opportunity to pay another dollar to buy a slice of pizza for a homeless person. The generous donor could then leave a Post-it message on the restaurant wall to notify anyone in need that a free slice is available. In return, the recipient could also write a note of thanks.
Nine months later, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza wall was covered with a plethora of encouraging and warm Post-Its, such as “God bless you. Because of you, I ate off this plate, the only thing I ate all day…”, “you can do it” and so on.
According to ABC News, Wartman feeds about 30 to 40 homeless people a day. “They deserve to eat in the store and enjoy the music as much as any other paying customer”, said Wartman.
Ellen DeGeneres even invited Wartman onto her famous TV talk show, during which she encouraged people to visit Rosa’s Fresh Pizza. What’s more, she presented him with a cheque for USD10,000 (SGD15,000) to help grow his business and help more people.
This is a nice business model that reminds us how solidarity with the needy can be simple, beautiful and an important aspect in our society!
Lindsay POUI-DI
