Pizza essential for local heroes

As they keep the community safe through the Covid-19 crisis, local emergency service crews have discovered there is actually such a thing as a free lunch, thanks to a generous tasty offer from a nearby eatery.

To help fuel first responders, Wood Street Pizzeria at Mangawhai Heads have been dishing up free pizza to local police, fire service and St John volunteers over the lockdown period.

Owner Evan King says the team were thinking about how they could say thank you to the essential workers and ‘pizza seemed the obvious choice’.

“It’s what we do and everyone loves pizza,” he says. “So we contacted the different first responder teams and offered up a free pizza for everyone who has worked these past six weeks. It’s not a lot, but it’s something we could do and every bit helps.”

King says while many people, businesses and industries have been ‘hit extraordinarily hard in this crisis’, having to adjust to the restrictions and required regulations, at least ‘we have been kept safe at home’.

“We face many hard challenges still to come… but as hard as it’s been for us personally, these heroes are out every day looking after all of us,” he says. “There have still been fires, accidents, and other health issues not related to Covid-19, and they have had to sacrifice their safety for us.”

Naturally, the offer was well received by the many crew members who contacted the restaurant to send their personal thanks.

Wood Street Pizzeria offered free pizza to first responders to say ‘thank you’. PHOTO/SUPPLIED