Theirs is a very special restart. Because special is the commitment they put into what they do. Neither the Coronavirus nor the lockdown stopped their desire to start over. And so in a few days many will be able to see them at work. Who are we talking about? Of the young protagonists of the “PizzAut” project, the pizzeria that in Lombardy is run by autistic children. But they will not open their headquarters as planned. But they will be the ones to bring the pizzas to homes, stuffing them and baking them on the road, in their brand new truck, a small red four-wheeled pizzeria.
PizzAut, the pizzeria will go to the street
The project started a few years ago by Nico Acampora, father of an autistic boy, with the aim of creating a place where autistic children could work and integrate in full, it has evolved. They decided to use a truck to bring their pizzas to customers. The service will be operational from the first days of June. The pizzas will be delivered between Milan, Monza and Brianza. At first their pizzeria was to open on April 2, the day on which Autism Day is celebrated, in the premises set up in Cassina de 'Pecchi, in the province of Milan. Then the forced stop for the emergency Covid.
Furthermore, the construction site for the construction of the pizzeria has stopped, also because many workers came from the municipalities of the Bergamo area, one of the areas most affected by the virus. "We stopped at the beginning of March as a precaution, before any national and regional directive - explained to Corriere Acampora -. Very little was missing, we had already collected the uniforms for the pizza guys and for those in the dining room, we had come to choose the chef from 250 curricula of extraordinary people who responded to our appeal, we had hired the room educator".
With Phase 2, the construction site was restarted to complete the PizzAut pizzeria
And now that the Phase 2 and the quarantine is over, the construction site has also restarted. But while waiting for the works to be completed, this new idea was born to involve young people. A sort of four-wheeled pizzeria that shuttled between neighboring municipalities for deliveries. "We don't let Autism stop us, let alone if Covid stops us - they wrote on Facebook -. The desire for inclusion and work for autistic children does not stop. "
The project carried out with the support of the Community Foundation
Through a red truck, branded PizzAut, the boys will take the orders, and then they will do what they have learned: the pizzas. "This lockdown has marked our boys - Acampora added -. I have received requests for help from all over Italy and even now it is not possible to understand why hairdressers can open, but not the educational and support services for our children. Someone has regressed, someone no longer wants to leave the house. We had to find a way to resume our business, pending the opening of the pizzeria".
This initiative also started with the contribution of the Community Foundation of Milan, which donated 75 thousand euros. "Financing - has detected Acampora - it also allows us to kick off the "AccademiAut" project, as soon as our kitchen is accessible, to train new generation of pizza chefs and waiters, in groups of 5 or 6 with the aim of being able to replicate the idea of Pizzaut also in other areas of Italy".
The pizzeria will be adapted to safety regulations
The construction site for the pizzeria is divided as follows: the place is 300 square meters. 80 seats will be set up inside and 60 in the outdoor garden. In addition, the carpenters are creating wooden panels aimed at muffling the noises that could disturb some children. And then there will be a large kitchen and a small one for celiacs, belt ovens, to follow the various stages of cooking up to plate the pizzas.
The laboratory for the social inclusion of children
Il project he left a few years ago. It was born with the aim of training autistic young people and inserting them into the world of work, with an adequate staff that follows the various phases. "We realized that with attention, delicacy and determination - explain the promoters of the project on the social page - this situation can be changed. And for this reason we have decided to invest our energies and our resources in a project capable of building today a present and a different future, where we can integrate autistic people not because they need help, but because they are the bearers of skills and -to be".
