Pittsburgh food bank plans to continue distributions

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

The coronavirus outbreak is not keeping the volunteers at Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank from feeding those in need throughout the region.

But it is making those volunteers take precautions.

President and CEO Lisa Scales announced Monday that regularly scheduled food bank distributions, including one in McKeesport, will continue as scheduled.

She said the food bank has been deemed an “essential, central service.” Staff and volunteers are following social distancing and hygiene recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state and Allegheny County health departments.

“At this time, the food bank is not restricting healthy volunteers from participating, but we want to ensure they are being as safe as possible. Volunteers are asked not to participate if they are sick,” Scales said. “Our regularly scheduled distributions are proceeding accordingly.

“(On Monday) we served more than 500 families at our drive up FoodShare at our warehouse in Duquesne. All our work areas are functioning at maximum capacity at this time.”

She said the food bank’s volunteer team continues to monitor the volunteer needs of its network and is working to fulfill them.

In the Mon Valley, Produce to People is still slated to take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Founder’s Hall Middle School in Mc-Keesport. 

The regular “FoodShare” distributions that occur on Mondays at the food bank’s main location in Duquesne, are still on the schedule.

Scales said the food bank is collaborating with Feeding America staff to advocate for legislation responding to the crisis and its impact on food banks. 

“Our development team is in contact with our supporters to share updates on our operations and needs,” she said. “Our team overseeing food security partnerships is participating in meetings with all schools across our region on how students will get meals with the announcement of extended closures. 

“Multiple summer food summits planned for this month and next will now be virtual sessions where resources and ideas will be shared with community partners.”

She said the food bank’s network development team is continuing outreach to provide support to area pantries, identifying any limitations they may have to help prepare for those needs. 

“We will continue working to ensure that all food bank communications channels, including our website and social media feeds, are updated frequently,” she said. “Our sourcing team is continuing to monitor our food supply.

“Finally, our operations team has made sure our warehouse facility is equipped and ready for an increase in capacity, while promoting health and safety protocols as set forth by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Allegheny County Health Department.”

To see a full list of food bank distributions, visit www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19-Distro-Flyer.pdf.

Updates to scheduling and programming is being posted to www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/category/covid-19/.

Scales said the food bank is in need of monetary donations, which can be made on the organization’s website.