‘Putting pizza to good use’: Manco & Manco donates to Camden shelter after air quality cancels the Phillies game

In Jersey especially, no one wants to see a good pizza go to waste.

So when Charles Bangle, owner of the landmark Ocean City pizza spot Manco & Manco, was approached with a creative way to save hundreds of pies, he said it took no convincing.

After the Phillies’ Wednesday game was postponed because of poor air quality, Manco & Manco — which also acts as a Phillies ballpark vendor — donated its already made pizzas to a Camden shelter.

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“While our entire region faced historic and dangerous air quality conditions, the Philadelphia Phillies organization made the right call to cancel that night’s game. Guess what happened next?” Joseph’s House of Camden shelter posted on its Facebook page. “Joseph’s House received a large donation from Manco & Manco Pizza — they sent us the pizzas they had already prepared for the baseball fans!”

Bangle said it all came together at the last minute and credits Jason Firestone, a senior director for the Phillies’ concessions provider, Aramark, for organizing it.

“We always look to do stuff like this when we can. This just proved to be the right opportunity,” Bangle said. “We’re happy to see our delicious pizza put to good use.”

The Phillies publicized the call to postpone Wednesday’s game around 4:30 p.m. But Bangle’s team had already put in a day’s worth of work.

“We start prep typically at 1:30 or 2 p.m. for a 6 p.m. game,” Bangle said in a phone interview as he was driving to Citizens Bank Park for Friday’s game. “A lot of hours and work go into it. There’s a lot of time preparing and planning for each game.”

Bangle declined to say how many pizzas Manco & Manco makes for each game, citing confidentiality.

But he said between 350 and 400 pizzas — mostly cheese, as well as some pepperoni and sausage — were donated to Joseph’s House as locals took shelter from the poor air quality.

“We’re grateful to the team at Manco & Manco for thinking of us and our guests while our entire community grappled with a public health crisis,” Joseph’s House said. “This surprise pizza party offered a much-needed silver lining in the smoky haze!”

On social media, the gesture has been met with praise from the community, with people calling it a great idea and expressing their appreciation.

“We’re not really looking for accolades,” Bangle said. “We’re humble and were just glad to help.”