Globally, more than 5 billion pizzas are consumed, and of that mind-boggling number, approximately 3 billion are consumed by Americans. Yes, even though Americans only account for 4.25% of the world’s population, they eat over 60% of the world’s supply of pizza. That means the average American eats about 9 pizzas per year.

Now that’s a lot of pizza. This is probably why an entire month has now been dedicated to pizza in the U.S. This month is October, and it’s now known around the country as National Pizza Month. During this month, people are encouraged to enjoy pizza, but if they’re American, then they probably would be even without the month being dedicated to it.

The History of National Pizza Month

In 1984, Gerry Durnell decided to create National Pizza Month. He was already the owner of a pizza parlor and ran a successful pizza-themed magazine called “Pizza Today” when he decided that the industry could use a boost.

So he invented this month in 1985 to encourage more people to enjoy pizza. Of course, between 1950 and 1980, pizza had already become a global favorite because pizza parlors were easy to open and the product was cheap to make. Many immigrants to the U.S. opened up their own pizza restaurants for these very reasons.

Facts About Pizza in the U.S.

We decided to do a bunch of research for this article and try to find out why pizza is so popular, but all we ended up doing is finding out more fun facts about how much pizza is eaten. So let’s just run with these facts and look at them below, shall we?

• Every second, over 350 slices of pizza are consumed in the United States.
• Over 90% of Americans order a pizza at least once a month.
• The favorite pizza topping in the U.S. is pepperoni. Over 251 million pounds of it are consumed every year in the U.S.
• Provel cheese is a white processed cheese made of provolone, Swiss, and cheddar.
• After WWII, the popularity of pizza in the U.S. really skyrocketed.

Observing National Pizza Month

National Pizza Month is easy enough to celebrate. All that people have to do is enjoy a few pizzas during this month. It doesn’t matter if it’s Detroit-Style Pizza, New York-Style Pizza, Chicago-Style Pizza, Neapolitan Pizza, Sicilian Pizza, Greek Pizza, California-Style Pizza, or St. Louis-Style Pizza.

Just choose your favorite and enjoy it with friends and family members. While you’re at it, don’t forget to use the hashtag #NationalPizzaMonth to let the world celebrate this month as well.