Man Wins Free Pizzas For a Year, Gives Them to Charity

By THC Staff | December 28, 2016

 

To get into the holiday spirit this year, the owner of Mario’s Pizza in Pennsylvania decided to give away free pizzas for an entire year to one lucky customer. According to ABC 13, there were 1,200 entries from which a computer plucked one name. The winner was Josh Katrick, a man who really needed a positive surprise to come his way.

Katrick, 36, was diagnosed with colon cancer in July and was undergoing treatment. He told InsideEdition.com when he found out that he had won:“I was stoked. It was my Friday afternoon and just finished a round of chemo. My [next] reaction is, ‘what am I going to do with all this pizza?'”

Since Katrick felt like he was fortunate to receive so much support from friends and family while going through cancer treatment, he decided to donate the free pizzas to a local food bank instead of keeping them for himself. Frank Grigoli, the son of the pizza shop owner, describes what he thought when he heard about Katrick’s decision. “It took me a couple steps back when he said he wanted to give it away,” he told InsideEdition.com. “When he told me the food bank, he broke my heart in a good way. He is such a genuine guy.”

Since they couldn’t resist spreading the cheer, Mario’s Pizza will now give the Northampton Food Bank and Katrick free pizzas for a year.