Kingston restaurant owner serves up thousands of pizza slices over the holidays

A Kingston city councillor is serving up some support for his community with ‘Project Santa Slices’ in its fifth year. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson reports.

Pizza Pizza owner Jimmy Hassan has a tall order to fill in Kingston, Ont., on Monday.

“Forty boxes,” Hassan said. “So, 400 slices.”

But it’s not just any order. Hassan is donating all of the pizza slices.

“I’m very excited and I’m very happy that I’m able to do it,” Hassan said in an interview with CTV News Ottawa.

The Kingston restaurant owner and city councillor is serving up some community support, aiming to make thousands of slices of pizza for charities across the city to give to their clients.

Called Project Santa Slices, Hassan says he’s aiming to donate 6,000 slices to more than 20 organizations in the city throughout the month of December, including shelters and community kitchens.

“This is the spirit of a holiday that we are sharing with the people in need and the people going through a difficult time,” Hassan said.

Michael Judd is a board member with the Kingston Community Health Centre and says clients of the Integrated Care Hub will benefit from the project.

He says it helps both the volunteers and the clients they serve.

“It means a lot to people to get this meal,” Judd said. “It’s more than just a slice of pizza. It’s something warm. People that are in the streets don’t have something warm to eat. They don’t have the ability to heat something up. And so, it’s delivered right to them where they live, they don’t have to seek it out.”

Hassan says the project began five years ago during the pandemic, when he distributed a few hundred slices to charities during Christmas.

But he says the need has grown, with many charities reaching out asking to be a part of the initiative. He’s now working to distribute 600 pizzas.

Hassan needs the support of the community to make it happen, saying those who wish to help can make a donation of $1 a slice.

“It’s very important as a community, and as a small business and part of the community, that we should stand with those who are helping others to get back on their feet,” Hassan said.

On Monday, the first lunches were delivered at Martha’s Table on Princess Street.

Aaron Crabtree-Woods says it’s a nice surprise for him.

“I think it’s a great idea to have this pizza here,” he said. “I’m enjoying it. I’m sure everyone else is.”

‘It’s filling and it’s fun’

Martha’s Table executive director Ronda Candy says the organization serves more than 450 people each day and the support matters in the lead up to the holidays.

“Food brings community together. It’s very social, but it’s also nutritious. It’s filling and it’s fun,” she explained. “It’s important. It underlies everything that we do.”

The project launched on Monday at the Pizza Pizza on Bath Road and was supported by community members, including Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen and Don Carter, the deputy fire chief for Kingston Fire and Rescue, who both helped prepare the pizzas before it went out the door.

Gerretsen says he’s helped launch the project in the past.

“He’s been doing this for a number of years now, and it is something that I think really resonates well in our community this time of year,” Gerretsen said. “It helps people.”

As Carter takes out a pizza from the oven, he says this is his first year — calling it a valuable project.

“Anything we can do to help out the community — I’ll do everything we can.”

Hassan says anyone looking to make a donation can do so online or by contacting him directly at [e-mail].