The question of what to do with leftover pizza has unwittingly become the catalyst for an inter-business challenge to help feed Tauranga's homeless.
Four businesses have come together to cook and provide hot meals for the city's homeless after a call from Brett Morrison, who came up with the idea after gifting remaining slices of his pizza to a homeless man at the weekend.
Mr Morrison, who owns Mount Maunganui Concrete, said he had been heading home after a movie when he grabbed a pizza and spotted a man sitting on the ground nearby.
"I only had two slices and thought 'should I take it back to see if he wants it?'. So I grabbed a blanket, pillow and the pizza," he said.
"I went back and sat there for a bit talking to him for a while and there were a few others like me who pulled up and, like me, tried not to make eye contact at first, but after a while people were smiling and waving.
"I saw how similar our lives were but along the lines he's made a couple of poor decisions. It's how similar our lives are but at critical moments bad decisions or bad luck can determine your life."
The experience resonated with Mr Morrison, who bought a 1.25litre of water, new blanket from Kmart and enlisted friends to help cook up a pasta bake before heading out to drive around the central city, offering food.
Mr Morrison said he could not believe how many homeless people he saw.
"I saw this guy up by Tauranga Hospital and I say 'hey, mate, do you want a hot meal?' He says 'yeah', and sits down and eats it right there. He just sat down on the spot and hoed into it."
Mr Morrison has spent a grand total of $11 and said it was not a lot of money when he saw the difference it made.
He challenged other local businesses to join him in a syndicate donating $10 a week in an eight-week roster, which would ideally see each business take on the task of providing and delivering hot meals once every one or two months.
Barrett Homes, Alliance CrossFit Papamoa and Pipe Masters accepted.
"I'm hoping that businesses can pool in together. I don't want to go in competition with others already helping feed the homeless, but I think there's a need and there's enough room for everybody," Mr Morrison said.
Alliance CrossFit Papamoa founder ChasClark said he knew the money was being put to good use.
"It's not just handing money over and not seeing it again. We know where the product is going and it's going direct to them, not being filtered through lots of different hands."
Pipe Masters director Paul Knight said the decision was a no-brainer.
"I guess it comes down to the values of the company and also my personal values, which is to look after your back yard and each other," he said.
Mr Knight said he hoped their example would encourage other businesses to jump on board.
"Obviously everyone's pretty busy but with a group of people working together to achieve it makes it more feasible," he said.
"No one can do everything but everyone can do something."
- If you would like to take part in the challenge, or find out more information, contact Mr Morrison via the Mount Maunganui Concrete Facebook page.