On Wednesday, Jan. 21, students, parents, and members of the community came together to do two of the best things possible: help the homeless and eat pizza.

The sixth annual District 219 Pizza Wars featured Bar Louie, Village Inn Pizzeria, Father and Son Italian Kitchen, Jet’s Pizza, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, Gulliver’s, Riggio’s, Wa-Pa-Getti’s, and Niles North’s very own Organic Life in the Niles North gymnasium in a buffet style competition where only one pizzeria could come out victorious. Costco and Nothing Bundt Cakes graciously provided beverages and desserts for the event in addition to the pizza.

The competitive nature of Pizza Wars was clear, and several representatives of pizzerias around the neighborhood took initiative and defended their own restaurants, including Bill Robe of Bar Louie’s.

“We have the best buffalo chicken flatbread. We make everything from scratch in our kitchen with the freshest products made,” Robe said.

However, every spokesperson seemed to be vying for their home turf. “Gulliver’s pan pizza is the best pizza in Chicago. Everything else is just ketchup on a cracker,” Brad Fasnock, an employee at Gulliver’s Pizza, said.

Individuals were able to buy an entrance ticket allowing them access to as much pizza as they wanted. There was a voting system where everyone got one vote for the restaurant that they thought had the best pizza in attendance, and at the end of the night Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria was crowned the winner of Pizza Wars. However, the more important aspect of Wednesday night is where the money raised is going to: Education Foundation.

“Pizza wars is very important because it benefits the Education Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that benefits kids within our district who are on free or reduced lunches. Currently 50 students within our district identify as homeless, which is super concerning, and the Education Foundation will pay for AP tests, field trips, musical instruments, even family’s rent sometimes. It’s really important that we come together as a community to benefit kids within our very own district,” Becca Rabizadeh, an executive member of Dance Marathon, said.

Last year, Pizza Wars was hosted at Niles West and raised about $17,500. Impressively, over 1,000 people were in attendance. This year’s amount is not known yet, but based on how crowded the gym was it can be assumed that a fairly large amount of money will be donated to the fantastic cause that is the Education Foundation once again.

Community members were extremely vocal about their support regarding how successful Pizza Wars turned out to be. “I think it’s a great event to get the community together and fundraise for something great,” Kyra Kalliope, senior, said.

Even if your favorite pizza provider may not have come in first place, the sixth Pizza Wars was undoubtedly a success; hundreds of people were able to come together in the gymnasium and raise money for a fantastic cause. To find out more about the Education Foundation organization, you can read more on the district’s website here.

Top Image by David Chua