Invent a Pizza - Win Stuff - Do Good

Well... if giving EVERYONE free pizza to celebrate Earth Month wasn't enough, we've upped the ante yet again!

In honor of our self-proclaimed awesomeness, I mean Mother Earth, we've come up with an online video contest that puts our fans in the driver seat of creating our next pizza recipe! We are excited to announce our first eva "Earth Day Video Contest".  The concept is simple: send us a short video of your recipe for our next Earth-Saving pizza, tell us why it the best pizza in the universe and why it is a perfect fit for Pizza Fusion.  Upload your video to YouTube then simply submit your video to our site.  Then promote your video via Twitter, Facebook etc because we will be taking the 5 most viewed/highest-rated videos to our celebrity panel of judges. This is a no-holds barred, winner gets the booty(that's pirate talk for grand prize) type of contest.

Our panel of judges include:

Chef Aaron McCargo Jr. - Host of “Big Daddy’s House” on Food Network
Mike Singer - Online Editor - Bon Appétite Magazine
Craig Agranoff - Pizza Expert - Blogger - WorstPizza.com
Jen Friel - Writer, Blogger, Actress, Professional Nerd
Vaughan Lazar - Pizza Fusion Co-Founder, Change Agent

Now comes the feel good part... all of the funds raised/donated during this contest will be donated to an AMAZING organization, SHARE OUR STRENGTH, a national organization that works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.  This charity was specifically chosen by Chef Aaron McCargo Jr. and we couldn't be happier that he did!

So now for the fun part... not only will your amateur culinary and film skills help end child hunger in America, you can also win some AWESOME stuff!

SOME OF OUR PRIZES INCLUDE:

• Trip for Two to a Organic & Sustainable Vineyard*


• Trek Bike – Special Eco-Design Model


• Year Supply of Honest Tea


• Year Supply of GIVE Water


• $500 in Free Organic Produce from Earthbound Farm


• $100 Pizza Fusion Gift Card


• $100 Whole Foods Gift Card


• Your Pizza Featured on Our Website


• Rockstar Status Around the Globe (OK, maybe we stretched that one a bit)

You're still here? What are you waiting for? Break out your Flip camera, Sony HD, iPhone 3GS or DSLR camera and get crackin'!!!

Swing by the contest website for all the rules and fineprint: www.EarthDayContest.com

Earth Month = FREE PIZZA!

What? Did you think we only celebrate Earth "Day" for 24 hours? Not a chance!  We are super stoked to announce our EARTH MONTH campaign it it says FREE PIZZA FOR EVERYONE!!!  Participating stores are saying thank you to YOU, our customer as well as celebrating this beautiful planet of ours with a FREE PIZZA!

It's fairly simple...
Just fill-out the contact form below and then print out the e-mail we send you to redeem at your local store. Oh yeah... you can punk the honor system by not filling out the form below but for those that take the time to give us a lil info, they will be entered to win these totally wicked awesome prizes. Plus the e-mail we will send you will include the coupon code you need to get your free food...

• Trip to an Organic Brewery


• Trip to a Sustainable Winery


• Year Supply of Organic Produce


• Year Supply of Organic Dairy


• And More!

(At participating stores only. Offer may vary. See your local store for details.)


Email Marketing You Can Trust

This also allows you to subscribe to more great offers from us!

Chipotle Goes Solar

It's not too often you will find us writing about other restaurants, but Chipotle is one of the few exceptions.  I am so passionate about cleaning up this industry, that when you see stuff like this, you have to share it with as many people as possible. It's just proof that "the big guys" realize the need for the industry to become more sustainable and extend their eco-efforts beyond food sourcing.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is going solar in a move that will make the company the largest direct producer of energy in the restaurant industry. The chain says it is installing photovoltaic solar panels on 75 of its restaurants over the next year - 13 of their restaurnats have already been retrofitted in select cities like Denver, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio. All together, Chipotle says the solar power initiative is expected to avoid some 20,500 tons of CO2 emissions of the life of the project.

Chipotle joins Pizza Fusion in their commitment to truly walking their talk when it comes to greening up their operations.  They also boast 3 LEED certified restaurants and join a long list of chains that are also building green; Pizza Fusion has 5 certified LEED and 4 registered LEED projects. Our Weston location proudly bears a Gold LEED seal.

Chipotle Founder and Chairman Steve Ells says  "the goal is to reduce how much traditional energy the restaurants use from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., when demand for energy is greatest". Chipotle has other "green" projects in the works - its restaurant in Gurnee, Ill. has a wind turbine on site and an underground cistern to harvest rainwater for irrigation.

“Our effort to change the way people think about and eat fast food began with our commitment to serving food made with ingredients from more sustainable sources, and that same kind of thinking now influences all areas of our business,” Ells said.

Well we applaud you Mr. Ells... keep on keepin' on!

Expo West Here We Come

So it's that time of year again! Team Pizza Fusion is making it's annual pilgrimage to Anaheim, CA for the 30th Annual Natural Products Expo West.  Natural Products Expo West is one of the premier events for the natural, organic and healthy products industry. The event is also co-located with SupplyExpo, the Nutracon conference, the Healthy Baking Seminar and the Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace. Having all these events under one roof really showcases the entire value chain of healthy natural and organic products from start to finish. From greener packaging to new innovative products... it's all here at Expo West.

We're excited to visit with old friends and partners like Honest Tea, Stonyfield, Earthbound Farm, and a myriad of awesome organic beer and wine partners as well. We'll be tweeting and blogging over the next couple of days so stay tuned! I won't be giving away too many of our secrets though! LOL!

Have an awesome remained to your week and see you on the flip!

~Vaughan

The Week in Green Review

On Monday no one knew what a Bloombox was and by Friday they had a 60 minutes special & a major press event. I guess an onsite fuel cell the size of a shoebox will get some people excited. (it isn't just me???) {via cbs & engadget.com - videos below}

Some tips for your Spring Garden {via grist.org}

He's no Mister Wizard, but he did thoroughly SCHOOL Bill O'Reilly {via treehugger.com}

Not sure what to make of the big Walmart announcement this week? {via grist.org}

If it only had room for two beds and a crib I'd be all over this... {via treehugger.com}

Absolutely breath taking view of our beautiful earth {via gizmodo.com}


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