Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

Poverty in the midst of Plenty

In our beautiful city, no child should go to bed hungry.

Last year, the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank distributed over 13 million pounds of food.

There was a time when Pittsburgh was prosperous, and that prosperity was linked to steel. However, in the 1970's the mills began to close and many families found themselves without resources. Those who found other jobs, usually did so at a great reduction in income.

It was in this atmosphere that the food bank movement was born, as part of the "War on Poverty". The concept - recycling food - elegant in its simplicity - is that of collecting food that would otherwise be wasted and distributing it to those in need.

Pittsburgh's food bank started small, in rooms above the Jubilee Soup Kitchen in the Hill district. Soon they outgrew that space and moved to the South Side. Each move reflected growth, and the fact that it was filling a real need.
Today, the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank has its own space, a state of the art warehouse/office located on 10 acres on the site of the former Duquesne works. The new facility offers space for bringing in and sorting goods, for storing goods, and for packing and shipping it to the member agencies who work directly with those in need.
It includes both a walk in cooler and freezer. The building has incorporated many "green building principles" -- natural lighting, energy management, recycled materials.

The Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank receives its food from many sources:

Second Harvest - a national organization that solicits donations from the nation's largest food companies for 200 regional food banks.
Giant Eagle - donates all dented and scratched cans, most of which can be recovered.
Those cans that cannot be recovered, are smashed, the food extracted and used as pig food, and the tin recycled.
Local food drives - Boy Scouts, mail carriers, church organizations.
Government surplus
Gleaning of produce from local farms
Purchase through the food bank's wholesale buying program.

As this food comes in, it must be inventoried and sorted. Some food comes in large quantity containers and must be broken into smaller units. This is all hand work, and for this hand work the food bank relies on volunteers.
The volunteers come in all ages and abilities. The minimum age is 12. School groups, handicapped groups, senior citizens are all counted among the Food Bank volunteers.
Last year, over 7,000 volunteers donated 39,000 hours of their time.

There is a very strictly kept inventory of all foodstuffs in the warehouse. The inventory is placed on a telephone recording and the associated agencies call in each week to see what is available. They then make their orders up from this inventory and phone it in. Workers at the food bank fill the order and take it to the loading dock where it is picked up the next morning.

The Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank serves over 350 agencies -- soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, after school programs, personal care homes, senior programs, affiliate food banks. These agencies work directly with the hungry.

The food bank has a "gleaning" program where produce from local farms is donated, but food bank volunteers must go to the farm to harvest it. In 1999, for instance, over 59,000 pounds of produce was gleaned in this manner - produce that might have otherwise rotted in the fields.
Farmers often donate their left overs after Farmer Market days. During Farmer Market season, the Food Bank sets up produce stands in poorer neighborhoods so that the residents may have access to fresh, wholesome produce.

The food bank also provides nutrition education in some of these neighborhoods.

Finally, Three Rivers Table is the Food Bank's prepared food rescue program. TRT drivers pick up prepared but unsold dinners from restaurants, caterers, hotels, hospital cafeterias, school cafeterias, and transport it directly to soup kitchens and shelters.

Click here to visit the Food Bank's own web site.