Do This For The Love Of Pizza

Along with the awesomeness of Halloween, and fall in general, most people forgot that October was National Pizza Month as well.

National Pizza Month was first observed in the United States in 1984, designated by Gerry Durnell, the founder of Pizza Today magazine. He chose October because the first issue of his magazine premiered in that month. Durnell owned a pizza place in a small town in Indiana, realized there were no publications to support the growing pizza industry, and created one himself, along with National Pizza Month. Durnell should probably be considered a national treasure for this.

While a lot of pizza places have promotions for this month, Giordano’s Pizza is taking it a step further by sending out free pizzas on Reddit’s Random Acts of Pizza.

The Random Acts of Pizza subreddit has requests for all sorts of reasons, but Giordano’s Pizza gives to people who might have gotten ignored by others in the Random Acts of Pizza thread, and strives to make their day.

So what’s the trick to get a gooey and delicious pizza from a kind Redditor?

Be Honest

A lot of people are swallowing their pride and admitting their hardships for a pizza. Some are struggling with being able to get a job, some are short on cash for medical reasons and some have just had a bad day.

After going through dozens of RAoP requests, we found that if you’re honest about why you’re doing this, Giordano’s and other redditors usually responds. If you’re having a hard time, people want to help out. Even if you are celebrating a special occasion, people want to join in.

Of course, some people on the subreddit also give you pizza if you say you’re stoned, but hey, that’s still being honest, right?

Pay It Forward

Many people on the thread were given pizzas when they said they were going to pay it forward. There’s no way of knowing whether those people actually did so, but it’s nice to think that you’re helping not just one, but two or more people by giving them pizza. This type of “pizza it forward” attitude is shown in the subreddits slogan: Establishing faith in humanity, one slice at a time.
If you say you’re going to pay it forward when you get the chance or have already given a pizza in the past, people are going to want to reward your sense of gratitude and desire to pass that on. Gratitude is shown to make us want to return or pass on what we’ve been given. It’s an admirable quality that people respond to.

Give Something In Return

Even if you can’t promise to pay it forward, people also reward those who give them something in return. One user offered to draw something nice in exchange for a pizza. Others bartered with things like keys for multiplayer games on Steam.

People like to have reminders for their good deeds, so something like a picture drawn by someone who appreciates what you did for them is always nice. Every time they look at it, they can be happy that they helped someone out.

Or, if you have something you aren’t using to offer, chances are there’s someone out there that wants it. And they might even buy you a pizza for it.

While National Pizza Month is over, I believe it is something that deserves to be celebrated year round by pizza lovers. Why not celebrate it with getting a free pizza on Reddit? Or, better yet, why not give someone in need a pizza to brighten their day? Giordano’s certainly made the most of the month by shipping 60 of their stuffed pizzas nationwide to redditors trying to overcome a rough patch in life or wanting to celebrate a new beginning.