What began as a heartbreaking sign of hunger behind a small pizza shop in Minnesota has transformed into a story overflowing with compassion.
On July 29, Heights Pizza Man in Columbia Heights, just north of Minneapolis, shared a message that tugged at thousands of hearts. “I don’t even know how to start this post but here goes,” wrote owner Chris Kolstad. “Please do not eat out of our dumpster. Nobody deserves that.”
Rather than reacting with frustration, Kolstad extended kindness: “If you are that desperate for food, please come ask. If you are too embarrassed to ask, find a way to call us and ask if there is a way to leave a small cheese pizza outside the back door or something. You don’t even have to see us. If you are the ones doing so, leave me a note and we will find a way to leave any extras or mistakes out back so you have something to eat without going through the trash. If you see this, I will be leaving a cheese pizza outside the back door in the spot you’ve been leaving boxes.”
The heartfelt offer spread quickly. In under 24 hours, more than $1,100 poured in through donations. “We did not expect nearly the kind of response we have gotten off of this,” the shop posted in an update. “The support over the last 24 hours has been unreal.”
That generosity will now fund several free pizzas a day for the next three months, plus groceries for two local food banks. And thanks to a surge of new customers, the cycle of giving is only growing.
One small act of kindness lit the spark, but it was the community’s wide-open heart that turned it into a beacon of hope.
- Against All Odds, A Father Fights to Walk His Daughter Down the Aisle - September 11, 2025
- UK Railway Line ‘Hires’ Three New Cats Found Sleeping Rough Nearby - September 11, 2025
- Police Find Lost Plushie While Teaching Boy a Valuable Lesson: ‘There are great people in this world’ - September 11, 2025
