Food is something many take for granted.
There are plenty of grocery stores and most people could live for weeks out of their pantry.
There are restaurants here, there and everywhere.
Cliff Williams / TPI Gannon Katzenberger boxes up a pizza at the Wetumpka Domino’s Sunday. Katzenberger is the franchise owner and gave away pizzas in memory of his grandmother who used to feed those in need.
Food is everywhere it seems. But that doesn’t mean everyone has easy access. There’s a gap Wetumpka Domino’s franchise owners Gannon Katzenberger and Gina Pellegrino tried to fill on Easter Sunday.
“I’m all about feeding the community and it's something I have always wanted to do is give people some free meals,” Katzenberger said. “There are people who need a helping hand.”
For the last three years Katzenberger and Pellegrino have spent Easter serving pulled pork plates from their home.
“I had gotten together a list of folks that needed food,” Katzenberger said. “I tried to go out and feed them. I was doing it all on my own.”
The husband and wife wanted to do something a little bigger this year. Instead of smoking BBQ at home, they turned their franchise into something more than just a business.
“I decided we had Domino’s here so why not deliver some food?” Katzenberger said. “All our drivers are on board and our crew wants to come in and work to help the community too.”
Despite it being Easter Sunday, the crew was slinging pizzas to give away.
“We closed down for the day,” Katzenberger said. “We want our employees to spend time with their families but many of them are giving back too.”
The Sunday lunch rush was fierce as the crew made specialty pizzas such as Supremes, Extravaganzas and Buffalo Chicken.
“We are giving people some premium food,” Katzenberg said. “We want to treat people well.”
Pizzas were delivered to those in need. Some recipients were brought to tears as a driver knocked on the door Sunday with a free hot pizza. The pies were delivered in Wetumpka, Eclectic, Tallassee, Titus, Montgomery and even Verbena.
“Pretty much anywhere they want food, we deliver it to them,” Katzenberger said.
The idea for the Easter food giveaway started with Katzenberger’s grandmother Geneva Neves who died about five years ago.Â
“She was always feeding people on Crow Mountain in rural Alabama,” Katzenberger said. “She would take plates to folks on the mountain and feed some of the older people who needed a hand or in the hospital. She was always big on feeding people.”
Pellegrino said Neves even worked in the Wetumpka Domino’s kitchen.
“She was small but wanted to work, even in her 80s,” Pellegrino said. “If she were still alive and knew we were doing this, she would be right here with us.”
Katzenberger wanted to honor his grandmother’s tradition of feeding those less fortunate with the Easter Sunday giveaway.
“I thought it would be a nice thing for the community to try and feed those in need,” Katzenberger said.
Cliff Williams / TPI Part oof the Wetumpka Domino’s crew who came in on Easter to cook for those less fortunate pose for a photograph include franchise owners Gannon Katzenberger and Gina Pellegrino.
