In December 2022, by way of Feeding Pennsylvania, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank was awarded a $1.24 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The grant was intended to improve the cold storage capacity of the Food Bank and our network of partners to extend the life of fresh food for our neighbors.
As of December 31, 2023, the Food Bank has invested $952,000 of the grant in 59 projects. There are three levels of projects funded by the grant, each broken down by category of project expense. 45 of the projects averaged $5,000, which included large walk-up refrigerators or freezers. 9 projects averaged $25,000 for walk-in cooler units. The 5 largest projects, averaging $100,000, were for vans, trucks or trailers, with the intent to ensure the ability to transport food in a more timely manner to maintain freshness.
Recently, Jubilee Kitchen received a grant for a new van to support its mission. Similarly, the First Presbyterian Church Soup Kitchen acquired two new freezer units. Cathy Shaffer, secretary and treasurer for First Presbyterian Church reached out to the Food Bank thanking the organization for its support.
“The two freezers we were using had been donated years ago. They had reached the point where we were losing food because they were not working properly. The (new) freezers are far more than we expected. Now we can safely put our frozen food items in the freezers.”
The allocation of grant money was determined through a process of identifying the cold storage needs in our agency community. The Food Bank has until December 31, 2024 to spend the funding.
This Project was financed by a grant from the federal Department of the Treasury, under the administration of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development