Vincent is from Duquesne and used to do high rise window cleaning for 30 years, washing the windows of Pittsburgh’s skyscrapers. After multiple back, knee and hip surgeries, Vincent now lives on disability.
Now living on a fixed income, inflation pushed Vincent’s budget to a breaking point. When SNAP emergency benefits expired, Vincent lost more than $200 a month in food assistance.
“I’m on disability. I get a check once a month, so I depend on food stamps and I don’t even get them anymore. How am I supposed to survive? I get one check a month. By the time I pay my rent and my utilities and everything else I got to pay, my money’s gone,” he shares.
Banaszak now visits Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s onsite food pantry, The Market, to free up money for other bills. He says the experience, and the ability to choose products that are best for him, have been a lifeline.
“The prices of food keep going up, up, up, up. But they’re giving less, less, less, less. They expect people to survive. This Food Bank, it’s a huge difference. It’s a huge help. It really is.”