‘Slice Out Hunger’ TONIGHT in New York City’s Soho District

As I’ve come to find out, Scott Wiener is a man after my own heart.

Scott—an accomplished author and world-record holder for largest pizza-box collection—leads an event called “Slice Out Hunger,” an annual gathering that brings pizza lovers together to raise money.

Put simply, SOH is exactly what I write about in Pizza for Good: that pizza has power. It has the power to bring people together, to rally hungry troops who want to make a difference for folks who need help.

The premise for SOH simple: charge attendees $1 per slice and give 100% of the proceeds to Food Bank for New York City.

Photo of “Slice out Hunger” in New York City

“Last year we made more than $20,000 with 735 pizzas donated,” Scott told me on a phone interview today. “This year, it’s entirely realistic that we’ll break $30,000 this year.” The event encourages sponsorships from local companies that vary in cost depending on how much matching dollars each company pledges.

Scott started the event in 2009 as a small anniversary party for his company, Scott’s Pizza Tours. But the event morphed in to an annual fundraiser, growing exponentially since then, having to relocate due to incredible demand and response. This year, Slice Out Hunger will have 85 volunteers working at St. Anthony’s Church in SoHo, dishing out slices from more than 50 pizzerias.

Scott says SOH was a happy accident, one that he looks forward to all year. “It’s the most rewarding thing I do,” he says. “This is the most rewarding aspect of running a business, where I have the priviledge of doing something like this. It’s by far the most meaningful thing I do all year long.”

If you’re in the area and can attend, you absolutely should! Click here for more info on the event and how to participate. For more on Scott’s pizza-box collection, have a look at this Ben Aaron interview:

UPDATE: Slice out Hunger raised a whopping $30,000, with lots of happy faces and accomplished organizers and volunteers. Here are a few snapshots from the event, courtesy of Scott Wiener: