Food bank seeking more volunteers as demand increases
As higher heating bills hit families this winter, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is seeing more people turn to it for food assistance.
But the food bank is struggling to find enough helping hands to serve them.
The nonprofit said the need after the holidays is significant every year, but has been especially severe since winter weather has made it difficult for volunteers to travel to the warehouse.
“We normally see a dip in the number of volunteers after the holidays, but this year we’re seeing more people come through our doors for food. We’re hopeful the community will step up to make sure we have the manpower to feed our neighbors,” said Maria Montaro, Manager of Corporate and Community Giving.
She said the greatest need for volunteers is in the food bank’s on-site pantry, The Market, during business hours Monday through Friday. The food bank is short about 75 of the close to 500 volunteers per week it needs to feed the community across all 11 counties it serves, including Washington, Fayette, and Greene counties .
Volunteers are needed for three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half hour shifts that could include: preparing food for distributions, stocking shelves in The Market, bagging items or weighing food at The Market, assisting families as a shopping buddy in The Market, and helping families register or get food at distributions.
Volunteers ages 18 and older can sign up at pittsburghfoodbank.org/volunteer. To schedule a group to volunteer, email the volunteer team at volunteer@pittsburghfoodbank.org. Groups of five to 15 volunteers are most helpful to the organization.
The GPCFB distributes food for more than 42 million meals annually across 11 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania through a network of more than 1,000 agencies, partners and programs. It was founded in 1980 and is a member of Feeding America, the leading domestic hunger-relief charity in the U.S.
For more information on hunger in our region or how to get involved, visit pittsburghfoodbank.org.