For the Italian street food chain “Piada,” excellent service goes beyond serving great pasta and supporting the local community. 

As part of Piada Gives, an initiative “committing to partnering with organizations aligned with the causes that matter most,” Piada hopes to assist local food banks this fiscal quarter. Customers can directly support local food banks in College Station and Bryan during this holiday using the new “Round Up” feature.

Marketing director Caitlin Deblo, said they are giving back to the community that has always been at the top of their wish lists to help eliminate food insecurity.

“Piada Gives is a channel of impacting and serving our communities, supporting our guests and, 

most importantly, giving back. We focus on four main pillars, education, eliminating food insecurity, social equality and cancer research,” Deblo said.

With Piada’s latest partnership with the RoundUp App, the platform allows donations towards supporting nonprofits effortlessly and essentially. According to their mission statement, the RoundUp App “is a donation and fundraising platform for nonprofits, eCommerce, and donors, making supporting nonprofits effortless and fun.” 

“When we launched Piada Gives, we allowed our guests through our loyalty program, Piada One, to sign up to be a Piada Gives member. This means every time they order from Piada, 1% of their purchase will go to that quarter’s charity partner,” Deblo said. “We are excited to add Round Up to Piada Gives this year and give our guests a chance to round up their purchase to the next dollar,”

Deblo says that eliminating food insecurity and contributing to our communities’ improved health and wellness is something Piada has always been passionate about. These local food banks have had great success with their proceeds.

“Last year, we donated $45k to various organizations in our Piada communities, and already Round Up is proving it will be a huge layer and contributor to our charitable efforts and has raised over $1,700 since we launched it at the beginning of the month,” Deblo said. 

According to a 2022 KBTX article, “one out of seven households is at risk of hunger, and if a household includes children, that number goes to one out of five households.” 

“There can be a lot of shame in admitting when one is struggling and unless someone blatantly asks for help, we may have no idea if they struggle,” Deblo said. “But the facts, the numbers … they point to the fact that we all probably know somebody who has experienced food insecurity at one point,”

Deblo says even college students are susceptible to hunger. Even with jobs and financial aid, many students who face hunger problems frequently turn to cheap foods with low nutritional value. This is usually evident by the piles of Chick-fil-a styrofoam cups, Whataburger wrappers and sugary Starbucks cups we often see piling in the back of cars.

Piada is hoping to support local communities that may be facing hunger as an obstacle. With one bite at a time and by using the easy RoundUp App, we can help those who need it the most together as Aggies usually do. 

“I think it’s essential to spend your dollar at companies, not just Piada, who are focused on giving back to their communities to help against the fight of food insecurity and other initiatives that impact the people in our own backyards,” Deblo said. “We hope others are inspired to deliver acts of kindness in their own backyards this year and help our neighbors in need.