A restaurant in Balham has delivered almost 500 pizzas to staff at St George’s Hospital to show appreciation for NHS workers during the pandemic.
Love Triangle Pizza opened its doors last August and was co-founded by three friends: Ben Mason, 40, Tyson Benton, 40, and Billy Griffiths, 38.
Motivated by the desire to create something positive and do their part in alleviating the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable people, the trio decided to combine their skills and open a restaurant with a charitable purpose.
Mason said: “Like so many people you’re sitting at home watching the news and you just want to do something to help and so that was our underlying motivation.
“Our aim was to always make really tasty pizza first, but also do good for the community.”
The initiative to send pizzas to St George’s Hospital, Tooting, was inspired by one of their customers who asked if they could deliver some pizzas to the ‘hard-working hospital staff’ there.
The NHS pizza, an item which gives customers the opportunity to donate £5 and send a pizza to St George’s every Saturday, has been a popular fixture on the menu.
By this weekend they hope to have delivered 500 pizzas to the hospital.
Mason explained how deliveries have been shared around the hardest-hit COVID-19 wards between staff and patients.
He said: “We’ve received thank you cards from patients’ families who go in and the patients are so uplifted because they have a slice of pizza.”
A spokesperson for St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our local community and businesses like Love Triangle Pizza.
“Thank you for the amazing support you’ve shown our staff over the past year, it’s made a huge difference and we are extremely grateful.”
Since opening, Love Triangle has donated money from every pizza sold, including the NHS pizza item, to Wandsworth Food Bank.
It has currently donated the equivalent of 18,000 meals and is hoping to reach 20,000 by the end of the month.
Operating on zero-emission bikes and with a small team, Mason said the trio is proud of what it has achieved so far and is hoping to renovate the outside space of the restaurant ready for a summer of outdoor dining in London.
