When you step into Cascarino's, you can find owner Anthony Cascarino in his office every day, behind the counter at his pizzeria. He's making pizzas, taking orders, and doing his best to make it through a time where the pandemic has affected so many restaurants.

"During the COVID months, and this whole year, has been a challenge in and of itself," Cascarino said. "Just coming up with new ideas, and making people know that there’s still quality comfort food here."

But the Business Council of Greater Montgomery is hoping to make things easier by implementing the Dine for Dollars program. The program ran through February, advertising local town eateries through social media. In turn, these restaurants donated a portion of their sales to Montgomery’s food pantry.

"You were able to feed your family and save time on food prep and not have to cook the meal for the evening," said Randi Picarello, executive director of the Business Council of Greater Montgomery. "By supporting the business, you’re feeding the business owner’s family. And then, in turn, the business owner is supporting a family in need in our community."

And the Montgomery Food Pantry needs the help, now that it's feeding nearly twice the number of needy families now as they had before the pandemic.

"We’re doing over 200 families a month here now, and that’s not 200 people, that’s 200 families," said Doug Hantusch, a volunteer at the pantry.

Participants and local officials agree the first-time program is a success, raising $4,300 for the food pantry and sending more people to their local restaurants. Hantusch says this money will go a long way.

"We can take that opportunity to get a little more for our patrons," he said.

Cascarino is happy his pizzas can make a difference in his community.

"You know that there’s people out there who have it worse than you do," he said. "And being able to help them, [even if] it’s [providing] them with a slice or two of pizza, it really just makes you feel good."