You Can Help the Downtown Community Takeout and Shelter Support Programs

This week, we launched the Downtown Community Takeout program, an extension of 412 Food Rescue’s existing partnership that connects restaurants with those experiencing food insecurity, thanks to the support of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the City of Pittsburgh, and an anonymous donor. This program joins the Shelter Support Initiative, which you can read more about below.

Interested in how you can give back this holiday season? Have an immediate impact on preserving Downtown’s small business and restaurant community while also helping your neighbors in need: donations are now being accepted to maximize and expand the program. Just $10 can provide one additional meal while supporting the restaurants you love. Donate now.

Jeremy Waldrup, President and CEO of the PDP, noted the critical nature of both circumstances, “We have to move quickly to ensure these restaurants survive. Downtown restaurant closures will affect retailers, hotels, parking, transit, street-level experiences and vibrancy for years to come. The trickle-down effects here are enormous. Survival will require increased support at all levels. The nationwide increase in food insecurity is also deeply concerning. As we head into the Winter, families need assistance to ensure they will not go hungry. We hope that with donations from the Pittsburgh community, these initiatives can help. We all have a responsibility to help where we can, and this program keeps people employed while also helping our neighbors in need.”

Aaaand @Pittsburgh #CommunityTakeout with @DowntownPitt is on the way! Thank you @TheWarrenPgh for today’s meals! Thank you #foodrescueheroes for being the Doordash for our neighbors in need! #yum #ohmy #goodfoodforall pic.twitter.com/Y6LksLh1zW

— 412 Food Rescue (@412FoodRescue) December 16, 2020

“This project is an example of how the nonprofit, public and private sectors can come together in real-time to support our community,” said Sam Reiman, Director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, which recently awarded $1.5 million to the Downtown Partnership for this initiative. “This is an opportunity for people and organizations to rally together to accomplish two singularly important community imperatives at once. Together, we can bolster our Downtown restaurant industry, before it’s too late. And we can simultaneously help the many people facing food insecurity because of the economic crisis. There are few instances where a donated dollar can work so hard and do
so much.”

Mayor William Peduto noted the vital need for community support stating, “food insecurity can impact anyone, in any neighborhood, of any age or income. It is essential that we address it, both for those needing food on their tables and for the many restaurants and workers in our community who help make Pittsburgh a vibrant place.”

Current data shows the need for support for both restaurants and those experiencing food insecurity is significant. As unemployment claims have risen during 2020, the COVID-19 crisis has created a food insecurity rate across the country that has risen by 42% since 2018. With a 28% increase in applicants to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the number of children expected to live in a food-insecure household is projected to increase by 61%, with food-related challenges are increasing daily.

In addition, the Pittsburgh restaurant industry has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and disproportionately so in Downtown Pittsburgh businesses, who have seen the Downtown workforce customers dwindle to 10 – 15% of 2019 numbers with sales down by an average of 49%.

While recent years had seen the most significant economic growth in the Downtown restaurant scene, COVID-19 has permanently shuttered several Downtown restaurants and created dire circumstances for the other independently owned restaurants that could impact Downtown for years to come.

The Shelter Support Initiative which begain on November 15, has us purchasing meals from local restaurants at the Men’s Winter Shelter at the Smithfield United Church of Christ. The cold weather shelter has been a much needed resource for individuals experiencing homelessness in Downtown for many years, providing low barrier access to a safe bed, food, and access to supportive services from mid-November to mid-March.

Historically, the shelter has struggled to provide meals without a commercial kitchen, so the engagement of Downtown restaurants to fulfill the food requirement has been an ideal way to address two significant issues simultaneously. The ongoing Shelter Support initiative will provide 9,000 meals to shelter residents through March 15, 2021, while also providing much-needed sales to Talia, Villa Reale, and Christos Mediterranean Grille.

Melissa Maffei, General Manager of Talia, a participating restaurant in the Shelter Support Initiative noted the broader value of the effort noting, “With each delivery we are graciously welcomed by the volunteer staff, and walk away with full hearts. It’s more than just giving a meal to our neighbors in need, it’s helping our community, and giving hope to those who need it most. Now is more important than ever to give back however we can, and we are so thankful to be involved.”

The other arm of the iniatitive is the Downtown Community Takeout, in partnership with 412 Food Rescue. Developed earlier in 2020 to support partner restaurants during the Red Phase of COVID restrictions, the program has been relaunched with a focus on Downtown, with the PDP purchasing 1,225 meals per week from participating restaurants: Arepittas, Eadie’s Market and Catering, Harris Grill, Las Velas Mexican Restaurant, Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room, The Speckled Egg, The Warren, Sly Fox Taphouse, and Wiener World Pittsburgh, for distribution to individuals experiencing food insecurity.

“We are thankful that generous funding for programs like this one allow us to build upon our ability to serve meals to people in need,” said 412 Food Rescue Co-Founder and CEO Leah Lizarondo. “We know this can work, since seven of the eight restaurants that participated during the initial lockdown survived. We hope for similar success with this additional support. Restaurants are valued spaces for connection and community, and we are committed to supporting the service industry workers who make those experiences possible.”

Currently, in its first phase, the program will expand to include additional restaurants while also significantly expanding food aid for those in need in the region. Community organizations already receiving meals through the program include Bedford Hope Center, Bethlehem Haven, Center Avenue Housing, Ebenezer Baptist Church, The KBK Foundation, Shepherd’s Heart, Western Avenue Missionary, and Christian Alliance Church, and more. The program is expected to serve more than 50,000 meals over 6 months, and generate over $425,000 in economic impact to the restaurant community.

Owners of The Speckled Egg, Jacqueline and Nate Schoedel, expressed their appreciation for being included in the Downtown Community Takeout Program: “We knew this winter would be challenging, but helping others is a great way for us to spend the holidays. With the recent mandate that all restaurants in Pennsylvania must be take-out only, we were looking for options to keep our operations going while trying to keep everyone safe. This was an answer to our prayers! It feels really good to be able to keep working and feed people a hot meal, especially now, during the holidays.”

Learn how you can get involved at DowntownPittsburgh.com/Donate.