Drops in Bucket

Giving back is slice of life for business

A creative idea that birthed in 2020 became a community connection before the end of 2023.

The Bucket Brigade Pizza Co., owned and operated by Eric and Natalie Hastings has become well known for their presence in and around Warren County, especially for their give back events.

As the Hastings were preparing to serve the children from the Salvation Army's Cobham Summer Day Camp program, they took the time to interview and talk about the story behind the food truck.

Graduates from Eisenhower, the couple moved away from the area for a time to travel the country. After living in a lot of different areas, they found themselves back here to put roots down and raise their family.

In the winter of 2023, within the first few short months of getting the food truck up and running, Natalie had an idea that she thought they should do something kind for people at Christmas, just to bless others in the community. Since that first "give-back" event, several more have followed.

The Hastings said the heart behind Give-Back Events is that everyone can benefit from free meals. "Maybe you aren't normally struggling, but everything just seems more expensive right now. Maybe your kids being off school for summer break means your grocery bill is $100 more each week, and you aren't sure how you're going to swing it. Maybe you're not struggling financially, but you're struggling in another area of your life and it would really be a blessing to not have to worry about the hassle of cooking a meal and cleaning up afterwards. We have personally found ourselves in each one of these scenarios at different points of our lives."

Simply wanting to be a light in the lives of anyone who is in need of a blessing, they continued, "We are abundantly blessed by this business, getting to do something we love with the people we love, and we feel led to share this blessing with others in our community. We will be serving pizzas to anyone who would benefit from a free meal. No questions asked. No judgement. No strings attached."

Donations from the community and donations from the members of the church have been a large part of the encouragement they are grateful to for the continued support. The Nazarene Church has been partnering with the Bucket Brigade for the Christmas time give back. Last summer, Praise Fellowship reached out to do the same.

What started out as a hobby three years ago has now turned into a challenging yet sustainable income for the family.

Eric is the creative mind while Natalie is the organizer. While he comes up with the ideas, his wife figures out how to make it work. Small business management is in Natalie's background so it makes sense for her to be the organizer for their family business especially when her previous job was closing its doors.

"We were kind of put in a position where we had to make a decision. The food truck was starting to take off, we were just about to buy this trailer, and it put us in a position where we had to decide, like, all right, do I look for another job, or do we just put our faith in God and jump into this head first? And so that’s what we decided to do-we jumped into this head first."

Eric, a full-time firefighter for the city of Warren, wanted to do a pizza truck for a long time. When his idea to put a pizza oven on a fire truck came about, his wife Natalie was sold on the idea and they have not looked back. A 1955 fire engine that came from Waukesha, Wis., made its way to Warren, after serving its whole life there. Natalie said finding the fire truck took a while because it was tough to find the right one that they had in mind.

"We quickly realized that having an open cab fire engine and the tent set up wasn’t really sustainable long term here where we live in Warren County with the weather," Natalie shared.

That led them to find a trailer in the spring of 2024, and they outfitted it for the business. The firetruck was not reliable or cost efficient, especially with gas prices, but still makes an occasional appearance, typically at children's events.

The couple mentioned that a big part of what they do is to involve their children. Their oldest son, 13-year-old Mason has been working with them since he was 10 while younger son, Flint, is starting to learn the ropes. Pointing out that their son Mason, has become mature beyond his years, Natalie credits that, in part, to the experience of talking to people, and learning how to deal with different situations from customers. Mason said that doing this alongside his family shows that he has gained skills in responsibility and that he has earned more trust in it. Perhaps the business will one day be "The Bucket Brigade Brothers."

The Hastings keep busy with pizza as well as baseball. Part of the Lakewood Gladiators travel baseball team. Eric pointed out that they are lucky to have all the grandparents help with their family's needs. Eric shared, "We are blessed to have all of our family nearby and willing to help when we need it. It takes a village, and someone is almost always helping us in some way – working in the food truck, helping with catering, or shuffling our kids to sporting events when we're not able to." As for the recipes, they were not family recipes, but they are now. "It took a lot of trial and error to get to the product we have now, and we look forward to handing our recipes down to our kids one day," Natalie said.

With Eric as a full time firefighter, Natailie's full time job has been with the family business for two years now. Parking their food truck in places across the region, mostly Warren and Chautauqua counties, the Hastings have also picked up catering this summer, with outdoor events, corporate lunches, weddings, birthday parties, family reunions, and more.

During the interview when they were asked what some of the most successful events have been so far, Natalie shared how their biggest event was at Youngsville Hardware. She said, "The small town really came out. We did a fundraiser with them to support transportation for the football program. We sold the most pizzas that day that we ever have anywhere, in the small town of Youngsville. People really come out to support a good cause, and we raised a good amount of money for the program that day."

Foreseeing this as a long term endeavor, managing the business requires careful planning with finances due to being a seasonal business. Wintertime work includes the Christmas walk and if opportunities present themselves, the Hastings would welcome additional events during that time.

"This past winter, we wanted to do a benefit fundraiser for Avery Dalrymple, who was a senior who was in a car accident, and so we actually had made sides for the back of the trailer so that we could do that fundraiser for her, but so now, long story short, we now have sides to enclose all of this for winter time. So we’re hoping we’ll be able to be out a little more." Natalie said that although they did not previously know the Dalrymple family, they connected with them. She continued, "We’re Eisenhower alumni, and our kids go to Eisenhower, so we just feel connected to the school and try to do a lot with them."

The Bucket Brigade Pizza truck will be at the Warren County Fair all week, located in between the barns and the midway, directly behind the EMS building. Other plans include a fundraiser for the Eisenhower Marching Band and a few other regional county fairs in Cattaraugus and Crawford counties.

"I feel like what encourages us to keep going is that we just genuinely enjoy doing it. I genuinely enjoy that this is my job," said Natalie.

Tough for a fireman's work schedule, Eric pushes through during the summer when the truck is nonstop attending events, because he thoroughly enjoys doing it.

Multiple catering events in one day is possible with the oven maintaining heat for hours. "We can cater lunch somewhere and then drive to a different location to cater dinner. All of our pizzas are cooked on site with fresh ingredients, so we don't have to worry about storing pre-cooked food. Catering starts at just $16 per person and booking inquiries can be sent through our Facebook page or email."

"We appreciate each and every person who buys a pizza from us, but there are other ways to support local businesses like ours without even buying anything. For a small business, a good review, recommendation, or share is just as valuable as a sale." Natalie shared that almost every catering booking has been through word of mouth.

They are excited to be hosting their first Give-Back Event of 2026 in partnership with Praise Fellowship Church and Divergent Life Ministry Center.

Natalie said, "Praise Fellowship reached out to us last year and asked us if we would be willing to provide the "means" to feed people if they were to provide the funds. The event was a huge success and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with them again this year to be the hands and feet of Jesus!"

Free pizzas will be served Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Divergent Life lower parking lot right next to Beaty Middle School.

"The heart behind the mission for us is that we try to be good stewards of what God has given us. He has given us this business and this platform, and we want to use it to do good for our community and advance the kingdom right here in Warren County."