Photo courtesy of Mellow Mushroom Sarasota

Ever wish you could get a pizza that keeps on giving? Well this Thursday, May 21, the more pizza pies Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers sells, the more it will give away to local charities and frontline workers throughout the region. 

Inspired by her retired healthcare neighbors, Atwood was one of the first restaurant owners to respond by donating meals to healthcare workers and the elderly most at risk when COVID-19 began to more seriously unfold in March. And in April, the Mellow Mushroom team was able to feed Sarasota Memorial Hospital with 42 pizzas and salads for lunch and dinner.

Now, the restaurant group is launching a new “A Pie for A Pie” community giving program. For every stone-baked pie sold (dining-in or take-out), the Mellow Mushroom Sarasota store owner, Karen Atwood, will match and donate to feed the staff at local assisted living centers including the Brookdale Senior Living Community and The Pines Nursing Home.  

“We are so excited about A Pie For A Pie day and being able to feed the staff at assisted living centers,” she says. “By providing meals, we are giving some much-needed encouragement to frontline workers in the Med-Tech, Nursing, Housekeeping, and Maintenance departments that are taking care of our seniors who are unable to have visitors during the Covid-19 crisis.”

Having partnered with Feed the Front- Manasota, a newly-founded nonprofit created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Atwood will be donating the pizzas through them. The charity is run by local senior care providers, led by Christina Oickle, and ensures healthcare workers in rehabs, hospitals and nursing homes are fed and made to feel special. Food can come from restaurants spanning the Bradenton area, Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch. “We are looking to support local mom and pop restaurants in our areas—putting orders in for 25-75 healthcare works per meal or treat.”

If interested in donating funds or nominating another front line team/organization to help and feed, head to Suncoast Pizza Bakers.  You can nominate a firehouse, police station, hospital, grocery store or your own team. 

To pre-order a pizza for ‘A Pie for a Pie’ call 941-388-7504, Mellow Mushroom Sarasota, or email sarasota_fl@mellowmushroominfo.com

Photo courtesy of Mellow Mushroom Sarasota