MANSFIELD, Ohio – Four years ago, Chaplain Derrick Martin from the Richland County Chaplain Corps (RCCC) made it his mission to feed all the working safety force personnel, and Two Cousins Pizza Co. made it happen. They plan on making it happen again this year for a fourth time.
This year, Ontario Chaplain Jill Waite is heading up the effort to feed the entire county’s safety force personnel. She said she didn’t miss a beat when she was asked to take the lead. Waite has been Ontario’s Chaplain since 2006 and she said working with them (the city workers and safety personnel) has been more of a blessing to her than she has been to them.
“When I was asked I was like, ‘heck yes!’,” commented Waite. “Those people don’t have any choice working on those days. When I’m given the chance to give back to them for everything they do for us, I do it. Why not, you know?” said Waite.
Waite has been working on getting what has become a growing annual event ready for weeks now. She has contacted every department in Richland County to see how many individuals will be working on Christmas Eve and Day.
“When I called and asked about their shift so we could deliver them hot pizzas, their response was 100 percent ‘Oh my gosh, thank you so much for doing this,’ so they really appreciate this,” said Waite.
Two Cousins’ co-owner Brad Konves said this event signifies something deeper than just feeding the forces. “It’s giving back to those who have sacrificed so much for us. They are daily heroes; so I see it as we’re serving the servers,” shared Konves.
The Feeding the Forces event started smaller than it is today. The expansion into serving the entire county’s safety forces, according to Konves, is due to the community. Four years ago, Co-owner Bill Konves posted about the event on their Facebook page and they received more than enough donated money to help make it happen.
Last year, Feeding the Forces provided 98 pizzas and served over 200 personnel. With that many pizza pies in the oven, the team starts early. Konves said he and the team, along with volunteers, start making pizzas after they close on Christmas Eve. They put those pizzas in the refrigerator, wake up early the next morning to put them in the oven, and make more pies as others bake.
The pizzas are delivered by volunteers in three shifts. The first shift of deliveries goes out at 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The next two deliveries are at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Christmas Day.
Manager Andy McIntyre has been involved with Feeding the Forces for three years. He and his Assistant Manager LaToia Hood work as a team on making pizzas. Hood said last year, her first, ran smoothly.
“It ran real smooth last year. We pulled through and we had lots of volunteers. It’s just really nice to see everyone’s generosity and it’s nice to be a part of it. I’m excited about it this year,” said Hood.
For more information on how to become a volunteer, send a message to their Facebook page or email info@twocousinspizzaco.com.
