“God bless you,” said the woman as she walked away from the window at MacDonough School in Middletown, where the Christmas spirit was alive and well on a late December day.

The woman had four children to feed, so the “take and bake” pizzas, part of the Pizza 4 Pals program, would bring holiday smiles to her kids. The program was conceived by friends Vincent Scileppi Jr. ‘23, and Aleia Goodison of Haddam.

Scileppi’s father owns Iliiano’s, which has two locations in Middletown and Meriden. The idea, first thought of in the spring as COVID tightened its grip, was to raise money to be able to make frozen pizzas that would be distributed to feed those in need.

The equipment was purchased, and the pizzas were churned out. With the assistance of the City of Middletown at MacDonough and Spencer schools, about 750 pizzas were distributed.

Cars lined up at both schools. A city worker at Spencer spoke of how appreciative people were.

“It was great to see that Vincent and Aleia wanted to do this and I’m glad we were able to make it happen,” Vincent Scileppi, Sr. said.