Pizza Klatch has started up again, taking place during both lunches every Tuesday in room B-2, Ms. Cummin’s original classroom. Capital’s primary facilitator is Never Angeline North (they/she pronouns), who was the facilitator before COVID-19 shut down the school and even then, Pizza Klatch continued to support students through online forums and Zoom meetings.

What is Pizza Klatch? Pizza Klatch is an LGBTQ+ Support Group open to both allies and LGBTQ+ youth alike. It is an anonymous support group with a main rule of “Vegas Rules”, meaning what happens in Pizza Klatch stays in Pizza Klatch.

Pizza Klatch was originally created in 2007 by a group of concerned therapists, group leaders and counselors after a surge of LGBT youth suicides took place as a way to combat it. It was originally an after school support group but after it was discovered by angry parents and members of the community, it was disbanded. It was then reinstated in February of 2008 but took place during lunchtime over pizza, as it continues to do so today. 

“What started in two schools now serves pizza and support to 14 high schools and one middle school reaching nearly 440 students in 28 klatches per week,” states the Pizza Klatch website, which perfectly captures the truth. Pizza Klatch takes place in all Thurston County High Schools and Komachin Middle School in North Thurston School District. Pizza Klatch also participates yearly in the Olympia Pride Parade, and often shares information with Stonewall Youth and PFLAG. 

Never North, a Pizza Klatch Facilitator, said, “Pizza Klatch is a lunchtime support group for LGBTQ+ and Allies,” when asked how she would describe it. They also said that, “we try to keep the atmosphere very relaxed and let students speak frankly.” 

According to both Mx. North and Ms. Donnelly, everyone who is LGBTQ+ or an Ally is welcome at Pizza Klatch and it is free, both the pizza and attendance. Never also remarked that any leftover pizza they have is taken and donated to homeless shelters.

When asked about any direct benefits of Pizza Klatch, Never revealed that at the end of the year, they do surveys which then they compile into statistics. They also stated, “Pizza Klatch benefits students by allowing them to vent,” and they also said that Pizza Klatch directs students in need to a variety of resources, from housing to food and even binding for Trans Youth. After our interview, Never shared some statistics that they had discovered through their end-of-year surveys. 

The statistics were as follows, “In 2018, 74% of the youth we polled said they feel safer at school as a result of attending Pizza Klatch. 68% of respondents said they practice safe sex more as a result of attending Pizza Klatch, 70% said they self harm less as a result of attending Pizza Klatch. 67% said they think about suicide less as a result of going to Pizza Klatch.”

When Ms. Donnelly was asked of any negative impacts of Pizza Klatch, she said that there were not any that she knew about. When Never was asked the same question, she started to say the same thing, but changed her answer to, “Occasionally there have been students that have been outed,” which is a deeply unfortunate thing, and she mentioned the history of why Pizza Klatch takes place during lunch. 

Never North was asked whether there was any additional information that should be known, and they said, “Gosh, just I guess that we’ve expanded with lots of after school activities, like DnD and gaming.” They remarked that during COVID-19, these new activities opened up to allow social interaction to continue and develop.

Pizza Klatch is open during both lunches on Tuesdays, room B-2 and hopes to continue all throughout the school year, even if there is another school shut down. Come check it out and grab a slice of pizza.