Pizza chef smashes fundraising target to feed the vulnerable this Christmas Eve in Northampton

A pizza chef has already smashed his fundraising target, in the hope of feeding the vulnerable this Christmas Eve in Northampton.

Craig Callaghan is the founder of Pizza At 75, which he has run from his home in Towcester since March 2022.

He has already raised £570 of the £300 target on his online fundraising page, with the initial target set to facilitate catering for up to 50 people who visit the Hope Centre.

Craig’s fundraising page reads: “As some of you who have followed me for a while will know, I have often donated pizzas to the Hope Centre Northampton using surplus dough and ingredients.

“Hope Centre Northampton feeds, houses and teaches skills to the homeless and some of the most vulnerable people in Northamptonshire on a daily basis.”

The Hope Centre reached out to Craig after their visitors requested pizza for their Christmas Eve treat, which the chef found “very touching”.

“This is something that I would absolutely love to do but, as a small business, this realistically isn’t something I can afford to do on my own,” Craig continued on his fundraising page. “This is where I need your support.”

As the pizza chef has already raised his £300 target, the excess will either be donated as cash or spent on additional food to give to the service.

Craig concluded: “Anything you can contribute would be absolutely amazing and greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for any donations.”

Having featured in the Chronicle & Echo before, Craig spoke of his three previous collaborations with the Hope Centre to help those in need.

Pizza At 75 was first set up when Craig took redundancy from his previous job in accounting and he knew he wanted to start afresh.

After being bought a pizza oven the Christmas before setting up the business, he took a liking to cooking from scratch and decided to turn it into his new venture.

Though Pizza At 75 predominantly operates from Craig’s home in Towcester and people come to collect their orders, he has also been hired for a number of private events, including birthday and engagement parties.

Pizza At 75 is a one man show, with Craig running it single-handedly – apart from when the business is hired for events and Craig’s wife Joanna provides a helping hand.

It was towards the end of 2022 that Craig realised he could use his venture to help those less fortunate than himself.

“Whenever I had surplus dough, I’d freeze it,” Craig previously told this newspaper. “It can still be used but the quality isn’t the same.

“I could make stock with it and sell it on for a cheaper price, or not use it at all, but I soon realised it could be put to good use to help others.”

Craig has made a total of 70 large pizzas for the Hope Centre across three visits and he plans to continue doing so.

To make a donation to Craig’s online fundraising page to feed the vulnerable on Christmas Eve, click here.