US to deliver 21,000 Superbowl pizzas to MidEast troops

The US will today deliver around 21,000 pizzas to American troops serving in military bases in Afghanistan and Kuwait as part of a Superbowl Sunday morale boosting initiative called the 'Pizzas 4 Patriots' programme.

The pizzas will be made by Illinois-based pizza company Great Kitchens and will be delivered by DHL Express to soldiers in deployed in Afghanistan and Kuwait in time for the screening of the popular Super Bowl football match on Sunday.

The ‘Pizza 4 Patriots’ programme began in 2008 and is funded by donations from the US public.

The programme came about when World War II veteran Bob Evans emailed then General David Petraeus and suggested the idea as a morale boosting initiative.

The move is to make sure US armed forces get "a slice of home" on Superbowl Sunday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn told CBS News.

The pizza firm is not the only ones to offer troops presents to troops, coffee retailer Starbucks has donated cups of coffee to troops and a program named ‘iPads for Soldiers’ has sponsors including Morgan Stanley.