Dear Friend,
Summer is almost here, and that means backyard barbecues, summer camp and other warm weather fun. But the summer months can be hard for families facing hunger. The end of a school year means thousands of children in our community will lose access to free and reduced-price school breakfast and lunch. That creates a gap they just can’t fill.
This year, rising grocery costs, reduced SNAP benefits and cuts to Medicaid have created another layer of hardship and a bigger strain for our neighbors.
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is committed to ensuring everyone has reliable access to nutritious food, and we’re so grateful that you are, too.
As you read through this edition of News from the Heart, I hope you’ll be inspired to make a special gift today to help close the summer meal gap.
Remember, every $1 you donate can help provide up to 3 meals for a child or family. Your compassion and generosity make a real difference in the lives of our neighbors. Thank you.
With gratitude,
Lisa A. Scales
President and CEO
One Less Worry
Families like Cody’s are grateful for your kindness and support!
There’s so much for new parents to worry about when their family grows. For Cody and Emilia, at the top of that list was making sure they could give their new baby girl stability. That’s why they packed up their lives in Portland, Oregon, and moved here to Turtle Creek, looking for a more affordable place to build a better life.
Still, even with Cody working full time, his minimum-wage job just isn’t enough to make ends meet. Between baby food, diapers and growing grocery bills, the family can’t seem to catch up.
Cody is trying to find a way to attend nursing school and start a new career to better support his family. But taking classes means cutting his hours at work, and that’s a trade-off they can’t afford when every single dollar he earns is critical.
Things hit a tipping point during the government shutdown when Cody and Emilia lost their SNAP benefits. And with continued uncertainty around future cuts, they’re concerned about how they’ll put enough food on the table for themselves and their baby girl.
“I’m one of those go-with-the-flow kind of people,” Cody says. “But [Emilia] is wondering what will happen and how we’ll be able to get food and stuff.”
That’s why Cody, Emilia and so many of their neighbors are grateful for the help they can get from programs like The Market, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s on-site pantry. The wide selection of fresh produce, meats and pantry essentials are available when they need it most. That’s one less thing to worry about for local families in tough times.
When families like Cody’s turn to us for help, neighbors like YOU make it possible for us to open our doors to them. Thank you for helping provide food and comfort to neighbors in need.
Cooking Up Love
For Dana, love is caring for neighbors, friends and family
As a mother and a veteran, Dana is no stranger to serving others. She’s always one of the first to step up and help in hard times and often shows her love in the kitchen, cooking for family, friends and neighbors. And just because her kids are grown, doesn’t mean her job as a mom is done!
The government shutdown last year hit Dana’s family especially hard. Two of her children lost their SNAP benefits and another had to work his government job without pay, putting a strain on budgets and creating a big gap between what they had and what they needed to pay their bills and afford groceries.
Dana wasn’t about to let her family go hungry.
“You deliver meals, and you do the best you can,” Dana says. “But then that gets hard on [their father and me] as well because I’m trying to stretch it for everybody else and for us too.”
To help bridge the gap, Dana and her daughter N’dya, who lost her SNAP benefits because of the shutdown, visited the Food Bank’s on-site pantry, The Market. They came looking for anything they can ‘stretch’ to help feed their family. The fresh food and pantry items they received were just what they needed to get through the difficult weeks without benefits and pay.
And while the holidays may have been a little leaner, the help they received meant they could enjoy a special meal together — with Dana cooking up love through warm meals.
Like Dana, you show your love through action — through generosity that stocks pantry shelves and helps families share special meals.
Whether you’re a parent, a neighbor or simply someone who believes no one should go hungry, your actions matter. Thank you for your kindness!
When the School Year Ends, Children Reply on Us
Your compassionate support helps ensure local kids have food all summer long
For many working families in southwestern Pennsylvania, it’s often a challenge to put food on the table. And summertime can hit particularly hard. Summer break means the end of free or reduced-price school breakfast and lunch. On top of that, day care costs can add an additional expense to already tight budgets.
Summer is a stressful time for so many parents here. Instead of making fun summer plans, they worry about how they’ll put food on the table for their kids.
Thanks to your compassionate support, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank can provide critical programs that help children and their families get the nutrition they need to thrive during the summer and throughout the year.
Summer Youth Café
Summer Youth Cafés, located throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, provide healthy meals to children while schools are on summer break. Sites are open to anyone 18 years of age and younger.
Child and Adult Care Food Program
This federally funded program, along with your support, offers nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children in after-school programs at 23 sites in Allegheny County.
School Year Programs
Nearly 80,000 children in our service area go to bed worried about their next meal. Caring friends like you enable the Food Bank to partner with schools and community organizations to ensure that every young person has enough nutritious food so they can learn, growand thrive.
Your continued support keeps families and kids fed this summer and all year long. We couldn’t be more grateful!
Just Grateful
Thanks to you, Heidi has the food she needs
Heidi’s daughter worried about her mom living alone in New York. Heidi’s health and multiple surgeries have left her with very limited mobility, unable to drive or even take care of herself.
Thankfully, her daughter talked Heidi into moving to the Pittsburgh area where she’d be close by and have a stronger support network. She found an apartment, and with the support she was receiving through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and her SNAP benefits, Heidi was able to get by, paying the bills and buying a limited supply of groceries.
But before she could even get settled in, the government shutdown meant Heidi had no assistance. At the time, Heidi shared with us that “I literally just moved into my apartment, so I already didn’t have food to begin with … Everything’s completely empty … I don’tknow what to do. I have enough food in the house right now to eat for a week if I eat every other day and go days without eating.”
Fortunately, Heidi’s daughter had heard of the Food Bank’s on-site pantry, The Market, and brought her mom to get some help. Together, they picked up enough food to stock back up and last Heidi a couple of weeks.
“[I’m] just grateful. Real grateful,” Heidi says. “Now that’s one less stress.”
Thanks to you, Heidi found an even bigger support network than she expected — and the food she needed to get through a challenging time. Your kindness makes a difference!