Connecticut Says Pizza Will Now Be It’s Official State Food, But New Jersey Objects
Like many other states have done, Connecticut has come forward to name a food item as the official food of the state — they chose pizza! A good choice, many have agreed for many reasons. But definitely not New Jersey officials, who obviously already set their sights on making pizza their own state food!
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States across the United States have chosen different kinds of food ranging from cooked or baked items like bread, pies and snacks to naturally-occurring foods like fruits.
For Connecticut, it is the former, an appetizing meal of pizza! State Rep. Patricia Dillon (D-New Haven) and Sen. Gary Winfield (D-New Haven) have proposed a bill to make pizza the official State Food.
The proposed House Bill 5656 would amend an existing state statute with its aim being to "recognize the contribution of pizza to the state's cuisine and economy."
State Rep. Dillon says:
"For one thing, our pizza is great. For another, when you go to some states, you can get pizza in chain restaurants, but the pizza in Connecticut tends to be family-founding, family-owned, they have their own identity, their own following and they're small businesses that really have a big footprint in their communities."
Sen. Winfield has a similar opinion about pizza becoming the state's official food. But not everyone agrees! Via his official Twitter account, New Jersey governor, Phil Murphy aired his objection to the proposed bill.
His social media manager said:
"New Jersey is the pizza capital of the world. Period. It simply doesn't make sense for a state that does not produce the world's best pizza to make pizza their official state food."
In response to the objection, Connecticut Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz wrote:
"Don't worry, we'll send you a slice. In the meantime, stick to the pork rolls."
The exchange continued with yet another rebuttal from New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver. She wrote:
"Call it pork roll or Taylor ham—just don't call pizza Connecticut's official state food. Stick to the grinders."
And just when you think the exchange couldn't get any more complicated, New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, wrote:
"As a former [pizza] cook and someone who has visited many pizza joints across New York State – I can confidently declare that New York IS the pizza capital of the world."
Haha! We hope this means there's an inter-state pizza competition in the works!
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