SHAWANO, WI – A Shawano restaurant and the Shawano community came together to help feed the hungry during a tough time.
Luigis Pizza and Pasta in Shawano spent one-day last week collecting food items to donate.
Vince Badalamenti, Bar Manager at Luigi’s said the idea was presented to him.
“I am part of the Air National Guard and we were talking about volunteering because we did not get activated. They mentioned about collecting non-perishable food items and donating them to the local food pantry.”
He says he does not like to go door to door asking, so he came up with a different idea.
“How cool would it be if people brought in three non-perishable food items and we give them 10 percent off their total bill.”
Badalamenti said they did that for one-day last Thursday and they were quickly busy with carryout orders and food collecting.
“I was hoping for 100 or 200 items but we doubled that.”
He says they collected about 481 food items and delivered them all to SAFPARC in Shawano on Monday and it was a win-win for community members looking to make a difference because they helped a local business and those in need of food during this time.
“It was a way to be proactive during a time that it is hard to be proactive.”
Badalmenti was surprised to see in many cases, people were bringing in more than three items and in some cases, people just came to drop off food without ordering.
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