Serving Pizza Slices With Kindness

Mason in front of the wall of paid forward contributions.

Early last year, 26-year-old Mason Warton quit his job on Wall Street and opened ROSA'S FRESH PIZZA, in Philadelphia. He prices his slices at a dollar per slice, a price that can't be beat. He still manages to break even, when all the accounting is done.

One day a customer came in and wanted to pay-it-forward by buying a homeless person a slice of pizza. That struck Mason as a really good idea, and he began encouraging other customers to do the same. When anyone took him up on the offer, he wrote up a post-it note with the customer's name and act of generosity on the restaurant wall. So far, Mason has served over 8600 pizza slices to customers in need.



When he appeared on the Ellen Show, Mason told her, "I see every day how many people it helps. This could become a hugely powerful force for feeding people in need. People have suggested I raise my price, but that's a short-term way of looking at it....[W]hen I started this I wanted to make money, and now we break even, we can cover our bills. I was making more at previous jobs, but if all of a sudden we ran out of post-it notes and I had to turn a homeless person away, that would ruin my day."

Mason figures that his pizza place manages to serve 30-40 people in need per day. Mason says. "One of the first homeless people that came in...he recently told me he got a job. He said, because of this program, he saved a couple bucks every day, got a suit, got a haircut, and got an interview." That shows that what may seem to be a small impact is actually making a much larger difference.

If you happen to be in Philadelphia, stop by at Rosa's Fresh Pizza. Don't forget to pay it forward with an extra slice of pizza for someone in need. You'll be helping in a big way.

Mason getting ready to place a pizza in the oven.

Thanks to this article from The Ellen Show: http://www.ellentv.com/2015/01/09/a-pizza-shop-customers-kind-gesture-turns-into-pay-it-forward-campaign/.

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