Mary's Pizza Shack of Sonoma raises $500K for local nonprofits
Beginning in 1959, when Mary Fazio opened the first Mary’s Pizza Shack that became famous for its homemade Italian comfort food, the company has been committed to giving back to the community in keeping with the generous spirit of its founder.
Mary’s hosts Dine & Donate events and other fundraisers enabling it to help support multiple nonprofit organizations surrounding its 19 locations. Total donations and charitable contributions in 2017 exceeded $500,000 annually.
After the fires ripped through North Bay communities, Mary’s held three fundraisers at all locations last November where 15% of total sales went to the North Bay Fire Relief efforts. In addition, whenever a guest spent $50 on gift cards, $5 was donated to this fund and the purchaser received a $10 gift card.
To further assist local food pantries, barrels were placed in each of its 11 Sonoma County restaurants to collect canned goods for the Redwood Empire Food Bank for the remainder of 2017.
These events and special promotions raised a total of $57,778 for fire relief, including $10,000 from gift card sales through the end of December.
“It was great to see such a strong community response to the North Bay Fire Relief Fundraisers.” said Vince Albano, Mary’s grandson and CEO of Mary’s Pizza Shack, “Our family and crew members were honored to be able give back and see so many guests support us on those days. It was incredibly heartwarming. ”
This third generation family-owned enterprise also held a food drive last August and September. When guests brought in a canned food item, they received $5 off their next purchase. This program was conducted in conjunction with Mary’s $25 Back-to-School specials.
Food collected at all locations was delivered to the local food banks including the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano Counties, Napa Valley Food Bank and Food Bank of Marin & San Francisco.
“Hunger affects thousands in our local communities. Conducting a food drive around our Back-to-School promotion is designed to raise awareness for the need of food donations year round to local food pantries,” Albano said.
