Portland pizza makers to send 5,000 slices to New Yorkers affected by storm

Owners of the Portland-based OTTO pizzerias announced on their blog today that early Saturday morning, their team of pizza makers will begin firing up the ovens and cranking out 600 pizzas to send south in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Here’s what OTTO co-owner Anthony Allen said in the online post:

We heard and saw that New Yorkers were in dire straits, and hungry to boot. We can’t rebuild houses but we can, at least, feed a few thousand people some hot pizza. That’s why we’re doing it: because we can.

It’s a great example of people helping out in the ways they’re qualified to — not everyone is a nurse or mental health worker, but everyone brings some skill to the table.

In addition to the pizza, OTTO representatives plan to bring water and other essentials, along with a mobile kitchen to help prepare the slices, to the impacted New York areas.

Reports this week indicated that Hurricane Sandy caused more than $20 billion in damages to New York City alone, cut off power to millions and displaced thousands and thousands of people due to flooding and fires.

The pizza makers will update followers through Twitter and Facebook, so supporters can alert friends and family in New York to where the food can be found.

In addition to two locations in Portland, OTTO has three spots in Massachusetts — in Boston, Brookline and Cambridge.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.