Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Celebrates 5 Years of WPIAL!
At Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, the start of the school year means one thing – the kick-off of the Annual WPIAL Food & Fund Drive! During the WPIAL Food and Fund Drive, 156 eligible schools take their competition off the courts to see who can score the most donations for the Food Bank and become a Community Champion! Schools in The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) and Pittsburgh City League network will get the chance to make a difference in our community by collecting food and monetary donations. 2025 will mark the fifth year of partnership between WPIAL and the Food Bank and we are hoping for our most successful fundraiser yet!
The Impact of WPIAL
In the first four years of the food and fund drive, schools in the WPIAL network have collected enough donations to provide the equivalent of 329,553 meals to our neighbors in need! It has also served as an excellent opportunity to educate the area’s youth on social issues facing our communities. As food banks all over the country are navigating funding cuts, this support from our community is more important now than ever. Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is here to ensure every pound of food donated and dollar raised will go towards our mission of ensuring everyone in southwestern Pennsylvania has the food and resources they need to thrive.
(Scan the QR code to make a donation!)
How It Happens
At the start of the school year the team at WPIAL will be reaching out to principals, athletic directors and other coordinators at all eligible schools to take part in this exciting fundraiser. Schools are divided into six divisions based on enrollment and once registered, will begin collecting food and funds on behalf of their school. The school that collects the greatest number of meals (calculated between the total of total dollars donated and pounds of food collected) will receive a Community Champion banner for their hard work at the WPIAL Basketball Championships or by having a Food Bank staff member present their banner at their school.
In 2024, six schools earned Community Champion accolades after raising the most meals in their respective classifications, with two winners capturing the honors for the first time since the inception of the Food & Fund Drive. The 2024 Community Champions are Armstrong (Class 6A), Central Catholic (Class 5A), The Ellis School (Class 1A), Seton LaSalle (Class 3A), Southmoreland (Class 4A), and Winchester Thurston (Class 2A). (WPIAL) Check out these other incredible stats provided by WPIAL:
| Year | Total Meals Raised |
| 2024 | 82,389 |
| – 14 schools provided over 1,000 meals each – 13 schools raised over 100 items in physical donations – Central Catholic provided a league-high 15,846 meals – Armstrong collected a league-high 2,161 items – Central Catholic raised a league-high $5,282.00 in monetary donations – Armstrong (8,929), Southmoreland (8,223), Seneca Valley (7,673), and Knoch (7,141) rounded out the top five | |
| 2023 | 65,432 |
| – 15 schools provided over 1,000 meals each – 7 schools raised over 100 items in physical donations – Southmoreland provided a league-high 11,397 meals – Southmoreland collected a league-high 4,056 items – Winchester Thurston raised a league-high $3,484.25 in monetary donations – Winchester Thurston (10,453), Armstrong (10,193), Knoch (5,147), Redeemer Lutheran (3,605) rounded out the top five | |
| 2022 | 74,500 |
| – 11 schools provided over 1,000 meals each – 13 schools raised over 100 items in physical donations – Armstrong provided a league-high 12,392 meals – Yough collected a league-high 1,830 items – Seneca Valley raised a league-high $2,275.13 in monetary donations – Seneca Valley (11,376), Winchester Thurston (8,614), Mohawk (5,848), and Hampton (5,233) rounded out the top five | |
| 2021 | 107,232 |
| – 22 schools provided over 1,000 meals each – 15 schools raised over 100 pounds in physical donations – Moon provided a league-high 19,362 meals – Redeemer Lutheran collected a league-high 870 pounds of food – Moon raised a league-high $3,789.35 in monetary donations – Seneca Valley (12,476), Knoch (7,632), Union (7,415), and Mt. Lebanon (7,490) rounded out the top five | |
How YOU can get involved!
If this is your first time learning about this fundraiser, you may be wondering how you can get involved! – Monetary donations can be made via WPIAL’s online fundraising page, located here. Donations can be made to the overall campaign, or you can select an individual school to support while making your gift.
– Be on the lookout for food drives being hosted by your local participating schools. If you can’t make it to your schools food drive, donations can be made in the name of your school of choice by coordinating with the Community Fundraising Team at GPCFB ([email protected]).
– Join the fun in person by supporting the local WPIAL sports teams at all of this semester’s sporting events! Winners will be announced at the Basketball Championships.
Join us in celebrating five years of partnership with WPIAL today!