Heinz grants to support sustainable local farming
The Heinz Endowments has announced a new slate of grants that will help fund the launch of the Greater Pittsburgh Food Action Plan, new urban gardens, and support for the sustainable farming sector.
In making the announcement, the endowments said access to healthy food differs greatly between neighborhoods in southwestern Pennsylvania, with the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council identifying 14.2% of Allegheny County residents – or 174,110 people – as “food insecure.”
Community Foundation for the Alleghenies will receive $190,000 to implement the Greater Pittsburgh Food Policy Council’s Food Action Plan, which details policy directives and community-identified steps the region can take for access to healthy, affordable and sustainable food..
A news release said the Food Action Plan tackles the region’s food security and access issues with a multipronged approach that includes advocating for a $10 million City of Pittsburgh-supported Food Justice Fund to address hunger; implementing the Good Food Purchasing Policy at the Pittsburgh Public Schools to increase the amount of locally grown food served to students and teachers; and working with the city’s Planning Office and City Council in identifying vacant urban lots for agricultural use.
“We believe that all in our region deserve the benefits of good nutrition,” said Endowments Vice President of Sustainability Andrew McElwaine. “Implementation of the Greater Pittsburgh Food Action Plan will advance the aim of the Endowments and our partners in bridging the gap between those who have access to fresh, healthy food and those who do not.”
A component of the plan focuses on a mapping project underway with the City of Pittsburgh. The project identifies vacant lots that have potential as urban agricultural sites, which can be gardened collectively by community members for personal non-commercial use or for off-site selling of agricultural products.
A $42,500 grant to the Millvale Development Corporation will support the Gardens of Millvale, an urban farm consisting of six garden plots throughout the neighborhood. The grant will fund installation of an outdoor event space for food education events and community dinners, including an onsite composting restroom and permanent signage.
The funding will also aid in the construction of a root cellar that provides capacity for food storage, making regularly planned events such as food markets more viable, and will support exploration of obtaining additional farming space in neighboring Reserve Township.
The $267,000 in new grants is in addition to the nearly $1.5 million awarded to food security-related organizations and projects since October 2021. Among grants awarded in the past year are:
$255,000 over three years to The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture to incubate urban farms in the region;
$240,000 to Farm to Table Buy Local to assist underserved residents in obtaining healthy food grown and produced in the Western Pennsylvania region, including support of Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh Co-op;
$150,000 to Mwanakuche Farm, a project of Pittsburgh’s Somali-Bantu community, to support expansion of production capacity on the farm, purchase of a tractor, and training of the next generation of SomaliBantu farmers;
$85,000 to Hilltop Urban Farm to expand its farmer incubator program from five farms to seven, grow food for food pantries serving underserved neighborhoods in the Hilltop area, and expand its farmer education programming; and
$375,000 to 412 Food Rescue to expand its award-winning technology that collects food that would otherwise be wasted and transports it to those in need.