In Connecticut, some phone numbers are harder to get than a Friday night table at Modern Apizza. But apparently, even the most protected number in New Haven has a price.
That price was $26,000—a gift from Rob and Stacey Bland to Feeding Families Foundation in exchange for access to the personal cell phone number of Modern Apizza owner Bill “Billy” Pustari. The gift will support families caring for critically ill children at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and launch a larger annual commitment by the Blands to match the value of Modern Apizza’s weekly pizza donations to those families.
Rob and Stacey Bland decided to make the $26,000 gift after Rob, a longtime supporter of artist and New Haven Pizza Club founder Michael Pollack, asked Pollack for help getting Pustari’s personal cell number—a near-impossible ask in New Haven pizza circles.
But Pollack noted, “This was never about selling a phone number. It was about putting a number on Billy’s generosity—and then finding someone willing to match it. Rob and Stacey understood that immediately. They saw what Billy and Modern have been doing every Friday, and they wanted to turn that into something even bigger for Feeding Families.”
The amount was not random. Pollack calculated the approximate value of Pustari’s weekly pizza donations since the initiative began a little more than a year and a half ago, and Bland agreed to match it with a $26,000 donation.
“Rob and Stacey’s generosity means so much because it honors the spirit of how this all began—with a simple weekly act of kindness from Modern Apizza,” said Jeff Dorman, co-founder of Feeding Families Foundation. “For families caring for critically ill children, a meal is never just a meal. This gift will help us reach more families and remind them they are not alone.”
Feeding Families Foundation was founded by Jeff and Sam Dorman after their young daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. The nonprofit supports families caring for critically ill children by delivering meals directly to them during long hospital stays, when leaving the bedside can feel impossible and the cost of meals can quickly add up.
Pollack’s connection to Feeding Families Foundation began through New Haven Pizza Club, which he used to help raise awareness and support for the nonprofit. During his first New Haven Pizza Club exhibition at District NHV, the collection sold out in two days and raised $14,000 for Feeding Families Foundation through original artwork, apparel and collaborations. The total included $5,000 from Rob and Stacey Bland’s purchase of a retired Modern Apizza pizza peel, with the proceeds benefitting Feeding Families.
For more than a year and a half, Modern Apizza has donated pizzas every Friday to families of sick children at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital’s pediatric hematology/oncology floor and PICU units.
When Pollack first tried to pay for the weekly order, Pustari refused. The pizzas were on Modern.
Not once. Not occasionally. For life.
“Billy never asked for credit,” Pollack said. “He never wanted attention. He just heard what we were doing and said, ‘I’m taking care of it.’ That’s who he is. And this is what makes the story so special. Rob’s first purchase of my art helped Feeding Families, and now he and Stacey are stepping up again in a much bigger way. If the most impossible phone number in pizza was going to change hands, it better be for something worthy of Billy’s generosity.”
Pustari’s legendary Modern Apizza was voted the No. 1 pizzeria in Connecticut’s 2025 statewide voting campaign to help determine the Top 100 pizzerias for the Connecticut Pizza Trail.
Pustari (pictured above) said the weekly donation was never meant to become a headline. “These families are going through something most people can’t imagine,” he said. “If pizza can make their Friday a little easier, then that’s what we’re going to do. I never expected anything in return, and I definitely didn’t expect this. What Rob and Stacey are doing is incredible.”
For Rob Bland, the story started with art, moved through pizza, and became a commitment to help families.
“I did want Billy’s number,” he admitted. “I’m not going to pretend I didn’t. But once I understood the full story—what Feeding Families is doing, what the Dormans created, how Michael has used his art and New Haven Pizza Club platform to support it, and what Billy and Modern have been giving every week—it became about something much bigger than getting a table.”
Bland said his wife Stacey deserves the credit for pushing the idea toward a larger commitment to Feeding Families Foundation. “Stacey saw the impact immediately. She knew this could help people in a real way. The number was the fun part, but the donation is the point.”
Stacey Bland, who grew up in New Haven and has been involved with Feeding Families Foundation, said the annual commitment is intended to turn a one-time moment into something lasting. “This started with Billy quietly feeding people every week,” she said. “We wanted to honor that spirit. New Haven pizza has always brought people together—this just takes that idea a little further.”
What began as one weekly pizza delivery has grown into a broader movement to feed families caring for critically ill children. Today, Feeding Families Foundation helps coordinate restaurant meals every night of the week through partners including Modern Apizza, Nolo, Haven Hot Chicken, Olmo Bagels, Parlor Joint, Ozzy’s, Eli’s, Casa Bianca, PopUp Bagels, Goodfellas, Italian Kitchen, Sherkaan, Bobbi’s, Sizzlin J’s, 80 Proof Kitchen, Pasta Avest, Fuoco Apizza, Olive Garden, Dairy Queen, and others. The effort has also expanded beyond Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital to six major children’s hospitals across five states, including Connecticut Children’s, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans and Boston Children’s Hospital.
Pollack said the story captures the best of New Haven pizza culture—not just the reputation, rankings and long lines, but the people behind them.
“Connecticut talks a lot about pizza, and we should,” Pollack said. “But this is the part people don’t always see. Behind the ovens and the lines are people who show up for their community. Billy did it quietly every Friday. Rob and Stacey saw it and decided to match it. That’s the story.”
And as for whether Bland now has Pustari’s number?
Pollack laughed.
“He got the number,” Pollack said. “Whether Billy answers is between them.”
