Latest news with #GreaterPittsburghCommunityFoodBank
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SNAP cuts would mark largest rollback of food assistance in U.S. History, advocates said
(WTAJ) — A proposal under consideration in Congress could lead to the largest rollback of food assistance in U.S. history, and Pennsylvania hunger advocates said the consequences would be devastating. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is urging lawmakers to reject proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid as part of ongoing budget reconciliation talks. The food bank warns that the changes would reduce benefits for millions of Americans, shift costs to state governments, and force hard decisions such as limiting eligibility or raising taxes. Food bank officials say this is the worst possible time to cut SNAP, with nearly 50 million Americans facing food insecurity, the highest rate in more than a decade. They point to rising grocery prices and health care costs as reasons to strengthen, not shrink, support systems. The proposed legislation would restructure SNAP's funding model, placing more financial burden on individual states and threatening long-standing safety nets for low-income families, veterans, seniors and children. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is calling on Congress to protect SNAP and Medicaid, and pledges to work with leaders on policies that help communities across southwestern Pennsylvania thrive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As food insecurity grows and federal cuts loom, Pittsburgh food bank ramps up efforts to help
A new report from Feeding America shows 1 in 5 children in Southwestern Pennsylvania do not have enough to eat. Channel 11 checked in with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to find out what's being done there and in various communities to help those in need. An unsettling upward trend of food insecurity is being reported in the 11 counties served by the Food Bank. The most recent data from Map The Meal Gap shows an increase in need across all demographics, including a significant spike in rates among children. 'You look at grocery prices, they're still high, cost of living is still high across the board, so it's all of those factors that are going into causing individuals to make very difficult choices,' said Brian Gulish, VP of marketing & communications for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Despite cuts in federal funding, the Food Bank is ramping up efforts to close the meal gap, a renewed effort to supplement the needs of families by adding 21 child nutrition partners in its service area. '…Working with school district partners, summer youth café programs, our partners in the community…we are putting the resources and the boots on the ground to make sure we can get the food in the communities,' Gulish said. The best ways you can help: donate, volunteer, and advocate for change, as the future remains uncertain for several federal programs. The Food Bank says that includes a loss of $1.5 million through the cancellation of the Local Food Purchasing Agreement (LFPA) program, as well as potential changes or cuts to SNAP benefits 'We are, right now, preparing for that proverbial double-edged sword: if our funding goes down, if the need goes up, we're going to see an increase in people coming to the food bank, and we are going to make sure we are here to serve our mission to the fullest,' Gulish said. RESOURCES: Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CBS News
14-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Food insecurity continues to rise in Pittsburgh region, new report shows
A new report shows that regional food insecurity continues to rise in the Pittsburgh region. It comes from Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap study, something it's been doing for 15 years now. This is a national report, but there are staggering stats at a local level, too. At the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, the carts keep moving, and the trunks keep filling. "My income needs to be supplemented. This is one way to do it: food banks," John Strothers of Wilkinsburg said. It seems many people keep relying on places like this, according to Brian Gulish of the food bank. "Going back to 2019, since before the pandemic, we were distributing about 31 million pounds of food," Gulish said. "We're over 45 million pounds of food right now this year." New data from Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap shows that 13% of people in our region are food insecure. Those figures come from 2023, though. "It's likely higher than that 13%," Gulish said. Among children in our area, that figure is over 18%. With Hispanics, it's 25%, and Black people are at 33%. "There are so many barriers and stigmas associated with food insecurity," Gulish said. Gulish says solving this involves a holistic approach. "If we can help those individuals in those other areas, hopefully, that will help alleviate that food insecurity as well," he said. Those areas may involve helping people find employment, education, or housing. "We need to make sure that everyone and every community has the resources they need to thrive," she said. That includes places like Lawrence County, where the food insecurity rate is higher than the regional average at 14.1%, or even Indiana County, which stands at 14.5%. "It is those rural populations where the most food insecure populations are overall, or with children," Gulish said. It's part of why the volunteer work continues here. The people haven't lost sight of the end goal. "We have work to do, but again, every day we walk through these doors, and we look at ways that we can put food on people's tables," Gulish said.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Mail carriers ready for 32nd annual "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive, here's how you can help
Since last week's storms, the already slim food pantries have been hit hard, which makes this year's food drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers that much more important. That's taking place tomorrow, and you'll be able to help, even better, you don't even need to leave your home, just take a simple walk to the mailbox. For your mail carrier, however, it's a lot of work and makes for a tough day. "On this day, they're going around picking up food and delivering mail as well as packages, letters, flats, but it's their time to shine," said Patrick Rothwell, the Executive Vice President of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 84. They sure have shone; they have collected millions of pounds of food for the food pantries. "These food pantries dry up right after the holidays, and this food drive is the largest one-day, single-day food drive across the country, and it replenishes all these pantries and churches," Rothwell said. What's collected comes back to the collection points at the post offices, where the local food pantries or churches that run pantries pick up the donations. Here locally, the balance goes to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. "A lot of the pantries in these small communities, from East Pittsburgh, Braddock, always the north and west, a lot of them go to pantries," Rothwell said. "Carriers will drive it right to the pantry when they're done delivering." Now, in the 32nd year, they're looking for canned goods, non-perishables like boxed pasta, cereal, peanut butter, toilet paper, and while they'll take things in glass bottles, they'd prefer not to do so because it can cause a mess if or when it breaks. For you? All you have to do is box it, bag it, or do whatever works and your mail carrier will pick it up!
CBS News
06-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Pittsburgh power restorations almost complete, storm recovery efforts just beginning
As Duquesne Light crews work to restore the remaining outages, Pittsburgh leaders said even when the power's back on, there will be a lot more work to do, and more help is on the way. On day six of recovery from last Tuesday's fierce storms, Duquesne Light spokesperson Matt Neistein said during a press conference with the city Monday that its crews and the nearly 600 additional workers brought in are finally in the homestretch. "We remain confident that the vast majority of our customers will have service restored by our initial global estimated time of restoration of 11 p.m. Tuesday, May 6," Neistein said. "As of 3 p.m. today, 96% of city of Pittsburgh customers who lost service as a result of the April 29 storm have been restored, and our overall service area, that number is 98%," he added. In the wake of the destructive storms, power companies reported more than half a million outages in Western Pennsylvania. There were 325,000 outages across the Duquesne Light service area, with more than 140,000 in Pittsburgh. "To give you an idea, by the end of this week, we will have replaced nearly 300 poles; in a year, we do 2,000. We also expect to have used 250,000 feet of wire, and nearly 250 transformers replaced. This was a storm of a scale we have never dealt with before," Neistein said. City leaders were happy to report that more lights are back on and more roads are back open. "We've been at this since Tuesday night, and we're still at it," said Bill Crean, deputy director of Pittsburgh Public Works. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey says even when everyone has power again, recovery won't be done yet. "We will have to engage in repairs of our facilities and cleanups on our roadways and parks. We also have new resource to assist residents in cleaning up downed trees and other damages on their property," Gainey said. Humanitarian organization Team Rubicon is on the ground and ready to help residents in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County with their clean-up efforts. "Please contact 211 or for any needs that Team Rubicon can assist with," said Lee Schmidt, Pittsburgh Public Safety director. With many forced to clear out their fridges and freezers, families going hungry is another major concern. The city and county are raising money for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank with a $1 million goal. "Unless we act collectively as a community, hunger will intensify. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is preparing for a 25% surge in demand," Gainey said. "We have been successful in persuading the state to extend the deadline for SNAP reimbursements to May 30," he added. The city also continues to work with the Red Cross and Salvation Army to get people food and other things they need. Anyone who needs food, assistance getting replacement SNAP benefits or other support can contact 311. And again, to request help from Team Rubicon with cleaning up your property, call 211.
