While closed Mountain High Pizza Pie puts its ovens to use for local food pantry

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mountain High Pizza Pie closed it’s doors in mid-March, although they continued to serve a program that brings meals to the homes of local people in need.  But after a chance conversation with the director of the local food bank, owner Todd Basilone, with the help of baker Seth Klein, fired up the ovens and began to bake 30-40 loaves of bread per week.  Todd explains why.

“So I was talking to LouAnne at the food bank there.  We were doing Meals on Wheels a couple times a week, as well as many restaurants in town do, for a couple months of the year.  I had spoken to her at the end of that, and she brought to my attention that she hadn’t been able to get bread for several weeks.  At first I was shocked at that and I was driving down the road and I thought, I don’t need to be shocked, I have a solution to this problem.  I can make bread.  I’ve got a big oven and I like to bake, so we can take care of that.  So that’s how it started.  We made bread that week and this will be the third week we’ll make bread again for them.”

As supply chains rebound from the run on goods like toilet paper, flour and bread, the food bank will likely recover its steady supply.  But for now it’s been nice to have a helping hand.  As for Mountain High Pizza Pie, Todd is looking to put his team back to work making pizzas very soon.

“You know, we’ll probably get past these next couple weeks and I’ll start opening again for take-out and see how it goes as far as projections go.” 

But for now, Todd is just doing what seems to be the most helpful for the community.