Pizzas 4 Patriots delivers for troops on Super Bowl Sunday

Elk Grove Village-based Pizzas 4 Patriots teamed up with international express shipping provider DHL Express to hand off piping hot pizzas to troops serving abroad. The 5,000 pizzas touched down in Afghanistan just in time for Super Bowl Sunday so that soldiers could enjoy a taste of home while watching the NFL championship game.

For the seventh year in a row, DHL Express donated the resources of its global express shipping network to the nonprofit organization Pizzas 4 Patriots to send enough pizza to feed every U.S. soldier stationed in Afghanistan. The meals were provided this year by Rich Products Corporation, one of the nation's leading pizza suppliers to the food service industry.

"Having served overseas, I personally know that having a taste of home on Super Bowl Sunday is a powerful experience for troops stationed abroad," said Retired Master Sergeant Mark Evans, founder of Pizzas 4 Patriots. "I am grateful to DHL Express for donating its shipping services, and to Rich's, for making this experience possible for our brave servicemen and women."

DHL Express employees loaded the perishable pizzas onto direct U.S. flights to the Middle East, re-icing the pies along the route and tracking the shipments every step of the way. The pizza were distributed to Bagram Airbase and then on to various Forward Operating Bases in Afghanistan. DHL Express provided final, door-to-door delivery of the pies, working closely with the U.S. military to ensure the pizzas were delivered fresh and ready to eat at the various military bases.

"We are honored to be a part of the team that helps our troops enjoy the Super Bowl the same way they would at home − with a slice of pizza," said Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express U.S. "While our experienced staff regularly handles cross-border shipments and complex deliveries, we worked extra hard to ensure that the pizzas arrived fresh to say 'thank you' to our troops overseas."

Since 2008, Pizzas 4 Patriots has worked with DHL Express to send nearly 150,000 pizzas in support of U.S. military personnel overseas, including a record-setting pizza delivery confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012.

"This is an outstanding way to show appreciation for our troops abroad. We're thrilled to be a part of the effort, and we hope they enjoyed our pizzas," said Dwight Gram, vice president, Corporate Communications, Rich Products Corporation.

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