Villa Formia Pizzeria in Lynbrook donates food to front-line medical staff

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, the number of sick people needing professional care increases every day. Hospitals filled with patients leave many health care workers exhausted from working long shifts in order to care for those diagnosed with Covid-19.

In an effort to help keep the workers within the hospitals well nourished, Villa Formia pizzeria in Lynbrook has begun donating pizza pies once a week to local hospitals, including Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside and Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Valley Stream.

"We have customers who are health care workers, and they work long hours and they are putting their lives at risk, so we wanted to help in any way that we can," said Rob Veltri, the vice president of Villa Formia. "The more people donate, the more often we can do this."

Community members can donate through the restaurant's account on the Venmo money sharing app, and the proceeds pay for the pizza that the restaurant donates to the hospitals. Typically, the pizza is brought to the facilities in the morning, and serves the health care workers who work early shifts. However, in the near future, Veltri said, he hoped to also donate food at night to allow for the evening-shift workers to also receive nourishment.

"The health care workers were very happy when they received the pizza, and it makes their day brighter," Veltri said. "It's a great feeling to help others for a good cause."

Community members can donate by finding @VillaLynbrook on the Venmo app, or clicking here.