The wall of the bricks of Pizzaut
Beyond 2,500 kg of excellent raw materialsincluding flour for fried pizzas, loaves and snacks and sweets mill Bianco and Pavesi, and Pan di Stelle biscuits: this is the number that tells the concrete force of the bond between Barilla and Pizzaut, The project that aims to build job opportunities and autonomy for autistic children through the management of inclusive restaurants.
A commitment that speaks of quality, care and attention, but above all of the future. That between Barilla and Pizzaut is not a simple collaboration but a living relationship, which feeds day after day.
A year after the start of the partnership, Lil Group of Parma renews and strengthens its commitment with regular donations of top quality ingredients, as well as an economic donation.
“A partnership with Barilla for us means working fully on the concept of inclusion,” he says Nico Acampora, Founder of Pizzaut, “it is in fact not only a donation but it is the development of a common thought on how to build a more inclusive world, an possibility of work for autistic people, as well as opportunities for socialization and growth for everyone”.
During the meeting held on July 2nd to Monza Pizza Restaurant, inaugurated in 2023 by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarellacompany and staff of the room were able to deal directly, discussing the needs of the kitchen and imagining new ways together to make this path more and more structured and continuous.
If the heart of each pizza is the flour, Pizzaut has decided to focus on Barilla quality, choosing its flour for the preparation of fried pizza. The same goes for the breads, the Mulino Bianco products, Pavesi, and Pan di Stelle, ingredients that give life to dessert – and even to an artisan ice cream – which tell a story of taste and responsibilities.
Meanwhile, new ideas are glimpsed on the horizon: how to ensure that even the first courses created by the boys of Pizzaut can soon speak with the authentic flavor of the Barilla pasta. To symbolically seal this partnership, Barilla posed its hexagonal tile on the famous “Wall of the bricks” by Pizzaut. It is A special wall, where the names of those who decide to actually support the project are space.
A simple but powerful gesture, which tells of a brick added to that ideal wall against indifference and favor of a more right society. An extra piece in the construction of a world where everyone can find their own place, putting at the work center, autonomy and relationship.
Behind every pizza served in the Pizzaut clubs there is a story of hope and dignity. Pizzaut is an innovative project conceived by Nico Acampora, educator and father of Leo, born to create real job placement opportunities and social inclusion for autistic children.
In our country, About 600 thousand people with autism are, but only a small part manages to find a space in the world of work. This is why Pizzaut wants to strongly change this paradigm.
After the first restaurant opened in 2021 in Cassina de ‘Pecchi (Milan), in 2023 the second place was born in Monza, even larger and more welcoming. Here President Mattarella wanted to be present, on the occasion of the inauguration on April 2, 2023, underlining with his visit the extraordinary value of a project that translates the inclusion into concrete gestures, between tables set with care and dishes prepared with pride.
The partnership with Pizzaut is just one of the many pieces of the path that Barilla has been carrying out for years to build a more inclusive and respectful society of diversity.
In the group they are active today 17 Employee Resource Group worldwide, involving about 2,000 collaborators in diversity & inclusion projects. Among these stands out “Thability”the program dedicated to enhancing the talents of people with disabilities, awarded with the Aretè 2023 prize.
Already in 2018 Barilla had created with Hackability, Non-profit reality specialized in inclusive design, to a co-design laboratory to make more accessible packaging and kitchen utensils and kitchen utensils. On the Italian territory the company continues to be felt: in Foggia supports the families of autistic children with IFUN, while the establishments in Castiglione delle Stiviere and Novara donated ambulances to the Red Cross respectively in 2023 and 2024continuing a tradition of solidarity which also includes the distribution of food products.
The commitment also expands to the sport and the culture of inclusion: from the Wembrace Awards and Wembrace Sport with Bebe Vio, to the project “The brigand in handbike” In collaboration with Fondazione Bollone who saw the young man Salvatore Cristiano Misasi Cross Calabria on an electric handbike, overcoming barriers not only physical but above all cultural.
