Church, restaurant partner to give out pizzas to Rochester school employees
Hundreds of Rochester-area families will be enjoying a free dinner in the coming days, as a local church and restaurant join forces to give out one thousand complimentary pizzas to local educators and school staff.
Echo Church and Pasquale’s Neighborhood Pizzeria teamed up to form the “Dinner on Us” campaign, which offers a free large pizza to Rochester’s teachers, administrators and school employees. Scott Shull, executive director of Echo Church, said the idea came to him after receiving a free meal of his own at an area restaurant a couple of weeks ago.
“It was a cool experience to get this free dinner for my family, and so we started talking as a church about finding ways we could do something really powerful and make an impact in the community,” said Shull. “We reached out to Pasquale’s to see if they would be a partner, and the rest was history.”
Photo by Isaac Jahns
Pasquale Presa, owner and namesake of the restaurant, said the decision to participate in the program was a no-brainer, especially thanks to his own story. The Presa family moved to America from Italy when Pasquale was six years old. He says his time in a New York City public school, taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, gave him confidence as a child; in his eyes, this program is one way to pay respect to those teachers.
“It’s what brought me my sense of understanding the American culture,” said Presa. “Teachers helped me through the ESL program — when I went through it, we were all from different countries. We’d come out of ESL, and we’d be in a battle zone. [The teachers] touched my heart, and that’s why I work very closely with the school, because I want to give back to them.”
Photo by Isaac Jahns
Shull said the program was deliberately left open to all district staff, not just teachers. Bus drivers, receptionists, principals, and other staff have joined many teachers in the line for pizza. While all 1,000 pizzas have already been claimed, the program will run through next Thursday, adding more free meals to a trend that’s already struck Rochester.
“It’s a hard time right now,” said Shull. “Some are feeling it from an economic standpoint, some from an emotional standpoint. To be able to give people just a little bit of joy, in a time where things don’t feel full of joy, it makes a big difference.”
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
