EF Meals on Wheels adjusts to reduction in donation

The organization is getting less food from Giant Eagle due to a policy change.

A couple months ago, Elizabeth Forward Meals on Wheels was informed by a Giant Eagle employee that the organization would no longer be receiving food from the store.

Meals on Wheels had been receiving donations, including bread and baked goods, from the store to help serve the community in need.

“The corporate office of Giant Eagle has informed us that the Giant Eagle in Elizabeth can no longer supply us with the bread and bake goods they take off their shelf in the morning marked with a sell by date for the day before that we use that morning in lunches for feeding the elderly in our community,” the Meals on Wheels posted on Facebook in May.

“We had been noticing that we were receiving less and less each week, but thought they were just making less and less because people were spending their money on basics not sweet treats,” the post added. “This is going to really affect our budget. Our local Giant Eagle, and major supplier, is undergoing some changes and can no longer donate to us as they have in the past.”

State Rep. Andrew Kuzma, R-Elizabeth Township, contacted the corporate office in May, according to a Facebook post.

Jannah Drexler, public relations manager at Giant Eagle said they have been working closely with the Meals on Wheels team for the past few months to help them get set up with other food insecurity focused agencies, expanding what they can donate and seeing how they can help.

“Their donation process is based on product availability and things that may have not been sold in the bakery,” Drexler said. “The product availability can shift for any number of reasons, depending on if demand was high in store.

“Partnering with those agencies opens up more of the store for them to get donations, so that helps them go into bakery focused areas, and outside of that. What is available might not be what they are hoping for.”

According to Meals on Wheels Coordinator Karen Prescott, the situation is slightly handled. They used to get an abundance from Giant Eagle and now they maybe get two bags of buns or a package of 10 cookies.

“We aren’t getting what we used to get,” Prescott said. “But in order to get it, because we weren’t going to get any at all before, we had to go into 412 Food Rescue to get it. Everything has to be documented. Before, we always signed up for it, but now what they have to do is go through some kind of agency.”

Pivoting

Leland Scales, who recently joined the 412 Food Rescue team, helps out Elizabeth Forward now. The organization, which rescues fresh surplus food and delivers it where it’s needed most, just started working with Meals on Wheels.

They also prevent perfectly good food from entering the waste stream by redirecting it to those who are experiencing food insecurity in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Scales has been trying to work on getting more produce for Meals on Wheels.

Meals on Wheels of Elizabeth Forward has been around for 47 years, serving around 80-90 customers Mondays through Fridays who live in Elizabeth Borough and Township, Forward Township, West Elizabeth, Elrama and parts of Jefferson Hills areas.

They have blizzard boxes for winter time, emergency boxes and an Adopt a Senior program that helps those who cannot pay $4. Donations have come in with quilts and cookies during the holidays.

They also prepare everything at Central Highlands Community United Methodist Church in Elizabeth Township, have at least 25 drivers and 25 runners who bring food to people’s doors, as well as kitchen volunteers. However, they are always looking for volunteers just like everyone else.

Prescott said their organization has gone independent from the government so they can serve anyone, can write grants for nonprofits and are able to get the bulk of items that they prepare themselves, which include places like De-Carlo’s, Jordan Banana and sometimes the food bank.

Meals on Wheels relied on Jordan Banana for baked goods for a while, according to Prescott, and they pivoted to getting a lot more items from Schwebel’s. She said the baked good donations save them around $2,000 a month.

“I tell them I don’t want to take more than what we can use because there are other agencies out there that need it,” she said. “I take only what we are going to use, and one of us will go over there and pick it up. Whatever we can get we get, but some they cannot serve. Now it’s whatever and what we can get.”

She added that they pick up from Giant Eagle through 412 Food Rescue multiple times a week, and sometimes it’s two boxes or two bags. However, if they didn’t contact 412 Food Rescue, they were going to receive nothing.

Prescott said they have sent pictures to Giant Eagle of the food they cannot use. She doesn’t want to waste food and wants to try to find a better way to use their items.

“Sometimes we get baguettes and they are hard and a lot of our older folks don’t have teeth. So that’s almost useless to us,” Prescott said. “We recorded what we picked up and what was charged. Now that Giant Eagle has switched out to the corporate, things have changed and now everything has to be documented. Once it switched, people would go in for their pickup and they said ‘We don’t have anything for you.’”

Being a lifeline

They also get some sweets that they cannot serve some of their customers, and they were paying for bread and sweets out of their grant funding and through fundraising.

Last month, Bar 48 in Elizabeth held a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels, raising $2,500 and having a dunk tank.

Team Brunazzi Events in Elizabeth has organized a run/walk at 8 a.m. Sunday at The Boston Trail. The group has organized running events since 2012, and has helped many organizations, including the annual August run for Meals on Wheels.

The Solar race started raising money for the Elizabeth Forward Meals on Wheels in 2021 at the suggestion of Chris Kania of Highland Meadows, according to race director Shane Brunazzi, who enjoys donating to good causes. Each year, the race grows, and they have donated $3,000 in four years.

“I used to live across the road from an old folks’ apartment building, and they really depended on the daily meals to get food,” Brunazzi said. “Second, because they are a dependable charity partner. They always show up to work at the water stop with a good number of volunteers, and they have good communication.”

Meals on Wheels is much more than a meal, according to Prescott. It is a lifeline, it’s a helping hand, it’s taking out the garbage, mailing letters, watching out for neighbors and so much more.

“We aren’t giving up. When they first announced that they would be cutting down on Meals on Wheels programs and food programs, you cannot believe how many people were calling asking if we were closing,” Prescott said. “Especially when children ask to see if their mom or dad are going to be OK. Some people should not be in their homes, but we are there every day and we watch them to make sure that they are OK.”

Some people cannot afford the $4 a day to eat two meals, and according to Prescott, a number of Meals on Wheels groups have already shut down because they were unable to get food — leaving the most vulnerable without help.

It’s a problem everywhere, and it’s hurting food banks, she added, saying that it has been hard on everyone when there are food shortages.

“Everyone is having the same issues, not just in that area, but all across the board because the cost of food is going up and a lot of the grocery stores are having flash food sales or they are keeping food a day longer at a discounted price,” Scales said. “Donors are looking to be more efficient with things.”

“It’s getting worse, it’s not really getting better,” Prescott said. “They keep saying it’s getting better. No, it’s not getting better. Not on this end it isn’t. (Some people) have no idea what it is like to not have food to put on their kid’s plate every night, and they are hungry. The same can be said for older folks.”

Donations can be sent to Central Highlands Community United Methodist Church, 100 Timothy Drive, Elizabeth, PA 15037 and marked on the outside of the envelope Meals on Wheels of EF. Checks should be made out to Meals on Wheels of EF.

Meals on Wheels of Elizabeth Forward can be contacted at 412-751-2230, and is always looking for donations, volunteers and other helping hands.

“Now that Giant Eagle has switched out to the corporate, things have changed and now everything has to be documented. Once it switched, people would go in for their pickup and they said ‘We don’t have anything for you.’”

KAREN PRESCOTT

MEALS ON WHEELS COORDINATOR