Student goes cold turkey on pizza passion

By her own admission, the Hebden Bridge student will “take any excuse” to indulge in her favourite cuisine.

But to raise money for charity that will secure a place on a volunteering programme to help people facing poverty in West Africa, Rebekah has vowed to give up pizza for six months.

She said: “I could literally eat pizza for every meal, every day. When I was a child I would only eat pizza and chicken nuggets. It’s like my staple meal.”

Rebekah, 21, cites Marco’s in Hebden Bridge and Dario’s in Sowerby Bridge as Calderdale’s premier purveyors of Naples’ signature dish.

Her flavour of choice is pepperoni, mushroom, onion and peppers.

On the big question in the pizza world – the equivalent of the “Marmite, love it or hate it” debate – she said: “Pineapple does not belong on pizzas. It is too fruity.”

Rebekah, who is studying at the University of Kent, must raise £1,500 to show her commitment to the International Citizen Service programme.

The money will secure her place to travel to Burkina Faso to live with a local family and undertake community work that will help some of the poorest people in the world. She said: “I have been really fortunate. Most people in the UK are very lucky and we can take that for granted. Not everyone has the opportunities that we do. In Burkina Faso life expectancy is mid 50s. I could not imagine growing up like that and it’s important to help people less fortunate.” When her trial comes to an end on October 15, she intends to “eat pizza for a month”.

To donate to Rebekah’s cause visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Rebekah-Wilinsky or text PIZA50 followed by £1, £2, £3, £4, £5, or £10 to 70700.