Food bank moves to adjust drive-up service in Duquesne

Other programs temporarily closed

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is having to adjust its emergency operations to meet social distancing restrictions related to the COVID-19 crisis.

While the Duquesnebased organization remains open as an essential enterprise, it’s not currently having volunteers come to its main warehouse and it’s having to temporarily close some other direct food distribution programs.

The Food Bank announced Thursday afternoon that it had “made the difficult decision” to cancel until further notice already scheduled Produce to People, FoodShare and Oakland Free Food Spot distributions. “Unfortunately,” it said in a statement, due to federal, state and local “COVID-19 mitigation regulations that limit crowd sizes and recommend social distancing, it is not possible to safely distribute food at the Food Bank’s currently scheduled direct distribution program locations.”

But staffers later announced more details of an emergency drive-up distribution at its Duquesne warehouse on Monday.

From 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, cars can pull up to the warehouse, at 1 N. Linden St., Duquesne, Pa. 15110. Only vehicles will be served and only 1,500 of them, with each vehicle receiving two boxes of food regardless of the number of occupants. Cars should enter at the overpass on Route 837, where “there will be a heavy police presence directing traffic.”

This will be a new model for big food distributions, said the food bank’s chief development officer, Charla Irwin-Buncher. She said the food bank is adapting in other ways, too, such as looking for other spaces where volunteers can pack food and still maintain social distance. The food bank continues to encourage people to sign up to be volunteers for when those opportunities are available.

Meanwhile, the organization is committed to helping people who need food assistance in other ways, including getting SNAP benefits (food stamps). People can also locate food pantries and places offering meals for children on the Food Bank’s website, where future distributions will be noted along with other updates: pittsburghfoodbank.org/covid19.

The Food Bank said in a statement that it “is continuously monitoring this ever-changing situation and evaluating the best way to provide assistance to our neighbors in need of food assistance.”

The upcoming canceled distributions include:

• Monday Food Share at the Food Bank in Duquesne

• Wednesday Produce to People Cambria in Johnstown

• Thursday, April 2 Produce to People Sheraden

• Saturday, April 4 Produce to People Braddock and Produce to People New Castle

• Monday, April 6 Food Share at the Food Bank in Duquesne

• Tuesday, April 7 Oakland Free Food Spot

Emily Matthews/Post-Gazette photos Left: Volunteers with the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank Paula Harris, right, of Greenfield, and Michael Sutton, of Mars, back, load boxes of food into cars in Kennywood’s parking lot in West Mifflin. Each car received two boxes of food, one containing dry food like pasta and beans, the other frozen food like meat. Right: Gregory Mittereder, left, of Brighton Heights, and other volunteers with the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank prepare to load boxes of food into cars.