In October 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida panhandle, leaving thousands in desperate need of relief services and aid. After learning of the devastation, Your Pie franchise owner Bob Rosato knew he had to find a way to help.
That weekend, Bob hitched up his mobile pizza oven for a 300-mile road trip from Peachtree City, Georgia, to Mexico Beach, Florida, to bring hot meals and a friendly face to local residents and first responders.
“When I first saw the devastation in Mexico Beach, I knew I couldn’t sit idle,” Bob said. “Watching these disasters unfold from the outside, it’s easy to feel helpless—but I’m a firm believer that everyone has the ability to make a positive impact, simply by using the resources available to them. For us, that’s pizza. It’s a small gesture, but by giving someone a hot meal, that’s one less thing they have to worry about today.”
Bob and team set up shop at the American Red Cross field kitchen in Mexico Beach and served hot, handcrafted pizza to nearly 500 people.
The on-the-ground efforts may have only lasted a day, but their impact lives on in the Mexico Beach community and in the hearts of the seven team members from Your Pie Peachtree City and Your Pie LaGrange who followed Bob’s lead and chose to spend their weekend helping people they’ve never met in a city five hours away. That’s what we call inspiring community.