Pitt Partnership for Food

For the past 30 years, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank has been mounting the fight against hunger in the Pittsburgh Region and the need seems to be growing every year as more and more households are seeking assistance from food pantries and soup kitchens. The University of Pittsburgh joined this fight over 20 years ago collaborating with the Scouting for Food program organized by the Boy Scouts of America. Ten years ago, the University while still connected to the Boy Scouts decided to nurture a direct relationship with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank by developing the Pitt Partnership for Food Program. Faculty, staff and students have and continue to participate in this program in large numbers and all food collected through the Pitt Partnership for Food Program is credited to the Scouting for Food Program. The University consistently ranks near the top of a list of corporations participating in the Scouting for food program and have consistently received the Chairman’s Award for our efforts. Two years ago, the University was instrumental working with Community Human Services an Oakland based community organization to establish a food pantry in Oakland under the auspices of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Last year, the Student Government Board decided to establish a student Fall Food Drive as a companion program to the spring Faculty/Staff food drive with very promising results. 

The University is also part of a regional organization the Southwestern Pennsylvania Food Security Partnership. The objective of this organization is to develop strategies to implement a comprehensive plan across a 12 county region to close the hunger gap in this region.