Slice Out Hunger’s annual Pizza on the Pier brings NYC’s top pizzaioli together to fight food insecurity

Brooklyn Bridge Park became a little slice of heaven on Sunday as hundreds of pizza lovers gathered at Fornino on Pier 6 for Pizza on the Pier — a cheesy celebration that doubled as a fundraiser to fight food insecurity.

The event was hosted by Slice Out Hunger, a nonprofit organization that began in New York City and has since sparked a nationwide movement to fight hunger through pizza. Since its founding in 2009, Slice Out Hunger has raised over $2 million to support hunger relief efforts across America.

For the first time this year, Pizza on the Pier took place in the spring and featured three sessions throughout the day, running from noon until 5 p.m. Attendees enjoyed 90-minute sessions filled with specialty pizzas made on-site by 35 of New York City’s top pizzaioli.

Hundreds of pizza lovers gathered at Fornino on Pier 6 for Pizza on the Pier, a fundraiser supporting New Yorkers facing food insecurity.Photo by Paul Frangipane

Slice Out Hunger’s Pie it Forward program, launched in 2022, has delivered more than 6,500 pizzas to those in need.Photo by Paul Frangipane

Participating chefs rotated throughout the day, with notable pizzaioli including Robert Cucco from Table 87 Coal Oven Pizza, Wylie Dufresne of STRETCH Pizza and Roberto Caporuscio of Kesté Pizza e Vino.

In a post on social media, Slice Out Hunger called the event an “epic” success.

“It was such an epic day of endless delicious slices [and] pure pizza joy,” the group captioned a photo of a bright orange wood-fired oven. The org thanked Brooklyn Bridge Park pizza parlor Fornino for lending the space, and the dozens of other “iconic” pizza-makers who baked off “yummy #Pizza4Good all day.”

“Every dollar raised will help send hot pies from local pizzerias to hunger relief centers in NYC,” the group added.

Proceeds went to Slice Out Hunger’s Pie it Forward program, which was launched on Pi Day in 2022 to deliver pizzas directly to New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity. In its first two years, the program delivered more than 6,500 pizzas through over 200 deliveries to various hunger relief organizations, feeding more than 17,000 individuals in need.