It is not every day that local pizzerias create gigantic American flag pizzas, a fact of which Burim Regjaj, owner of Westfield’s Outta Hand Pizza, is well aware.

But once the idea to honor the armed forces with a mammoth pizza came to mind, Regjaj decided to go with it.

A movie night had already been planned for the Westfield community on Saturday evening, and Regjaj had planned to make pizza regardless. After an armed man was arrested outside of a Westfield elementary school earlier this month, however, Regjaj thought the idea of creating a much larger pizza would be a great way to give back to the town’s first responders.

“I figured we needed as much support and attendance [as possible] to recognize what our first responders do,” Regjaj said.

The event was personalized by the presence of two veterans — from World War II and the Korean War — who observed the ceremonial cutting of the pizza.

The public’s response to Saturday’s presentation, Regjaj said, has been overwhelming.

“It was incredible,” he said. “It really did make a huge difference in the community itself. It got the community together, definitely, and made it stronger. Their support makes [Outta Hand Pizza] stronger.”

The task of creating such a large pizza was in itself enormous.

Regjaj said he began work on the pizza at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and only finished around 7 p.m. that night. In order to make the pizza the size that it was, Regjaj used 44 pounds of dough, three loaves of mozzarella and five gallons of sauce.

Creating the navy blue of the American flag provided a bit of a challenge. After experimenting with blue vegetables, Regjaj struggled to find an element that could produce the right shade. He finally came up with the idea of using dyed blue mozzarella — a technique that Regjaj said he had never seen done before.

He later measured the pizza’s dimensions and sent the results to Guinness World Records for consideration. Regjaj believes the pizza to be the largest in the nation and sixth largest in the world, but is waiting on an official response from the Guinness record-keepers. He expects an initial response from them within two weeks.

There are many other instances where Regjaj uses his business to give back to the community and, particularly, the military.

Outta Hand Pizza hosts “Pre-Pay Meal for a Vet,” a local program which allows community members to donate $16 to sponsor a veteran’s meal at the pizzeria. Regjaj said the pizzeria also tries to host get-togethers with veterans at least once a month.

“We provide meals so they can get a sense of normalcy in their lives,” he said.

His business is the sponsor of several other local events and organizations.

Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle said the flag pizza is one small example of Regjaj’s contributions to the community.

“The flag event was just one more great idea that Burim has to support the community,” she said. “In a short period of time he’s really become an instrumental member of the community.”

Regjaj said he already has plans for future community fundraising events. The flag pizza will also be available for purchase — on a much smaller scale — leading up to the Fourth of July.

“It’s only fair to give back,” he said. “As a business, you have to be a part of the community. They were gracious to support us all the way and the response has been incredible — unbelievable.”

Jenna Wise may be reached at jwise@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JennaRWise. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips.

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.