A love of pizza has led to a Bromham student making and delivering 25 of them to a homeless charity - and he aims to hand over hundreds more during the pandemic.
Alfie Fletcher, 19, who is studying English Literature at Trinity College in Dublin made his first of many planned donations to Chippenham-based homeless charity, Doorway on May 7.
Alfie said: “I was home at the beginning of March. In the time before I came back, my girlfriend and I had been eating a lot of Neapolitan pizza and with all the restaurants closed I thought, ‘what better time to teach myself how to make them?’ It started off horrifically, with crackers but it’s got a lot better.
In fact his skills improved so much that two weeks ago he and sister Amber, 17, and his girlfriend Allegra Della Ragione, 19, decided they wanted others to be able to enjoy their Neapolitan pizzas.
“One night we were having pizza and we were thinking about how we could share a little bit of happiness and for me, pizza is the ultimate joy.
“So, we thought that, for people who perhaps aren’t being thought of enough, the homeless and people working incredibly hard, we could make some pizzas and donate them in as easy a way as is possible to receive them and hopefully make them happy.
“For homeless people, with fewer people in the streets it must be difficult to get money and get food to survive.”
Jo Kitching, director of Doorway said “I was so impressed by Alf’s determination to do something positive for our guests at this time, some of whom are finding things really difficult at the moment.
“Homemade pizza given out for free is a treat in the best of times, but at the moment it can really make a difference to someone’s day.”
The ultimate goal for Alfie is to make 100 pizzas a day to donate to various charities and worthy causes across the county.
To keep the project steaming ahead, on Saturday the trio gave away 100 pizzas in Bromham, asking only for donations.
Alfie added: “That money will go towards other homeless shelters.
“There are lots of things coming up and more that we’re trying to put in place. We’re trying to do as much as possible and it’s about making contact with as many people as possible.”
With the donations, they raised enough money to give away another 100 pizzas to the Amber Foundation in Trowbridge, Blenheim House care home in Melksham and Devizes’ OpenDoors project, this week.
To pay for the ingredients and the hire cost for the mobile wood-fired pizza oven, Alfie has set up a GoFundMe page, which has already raised £1,751.
A statement on the GoFundMe page reads: “Everything is in place. Suppliers are ready for our bulk order.
“We have registered with the council, obtained public liability insurance and a food safety certificate.”
To donate to the pizza project please visit gofundme.com/f/5sazz-pandemic-pizza
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