How the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank plans to attack food insecurity

Every year since 1982, you've been helping us make sure our neighbors in need have a warm Thanksgiving meal. But food insecurity is a year-round reality for a lot of people. So how do we get to the core of it and eliminate it? Or at least take a big bite out of it?

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank has a new plan of attack.

"We cast a vision going all the way out to 2035 to cut hunger in half," said Charla Irwin-Buncher, the food bank's chief external affairs officer.

The food bank is refocusing its mission with a new strategy to better help our neighbors.

"The food bank is really stepping up into a role of being a convener and a catalyst for change in a different way," said Irwin-Buncher.

The new strategy has three main pillars. 

First is "food for today." 

"So that's emergency food assistance and being there for folks who need us to be there as part of their regular grocery solution," Irwin-Buncher said. 

Second is "stability for tomorrow." 

"So that's connections to other benefits and other resources here locally," she said. "Because it's never just only food insecurity. There are other things going on in the household — either underemployment, childcare issues, transportation, someone in the household might be sick. So really thinking through all those other supports that are available."

And the third is "opportunity for a lifetime." 

"That is really looking at policy changes, workforce development, things that are really going to make an impact on people's lives, so they don't ultimately need the services of the food bank or any of our partners anymore," said Irwin-Buncher.

She says it's no secret that it takes a village, but she says it's really time to start putting that into action by being proactive instead of reactive.

"There are a lot of silos within the human services' safety net," Irwin-Buncher said. "So we're all doing really great work, but we're not necessarily collaborating as much as we could. That's really where the food bank is standing up and taking on a leadership role to convene those groups and bring those people together."

She says recent research shows 26% of our neighbors struggle in some way with food insecurity. Of that, she says 15% are deemed food secure but only because they receive help from the government or food banks. The other 11% experience real hunger at some level, either because they're not getting enough resources or none at all.

Irwin-Buncher says the impact of that cannot be underestimated.

"It's really hard to think about your bigger aspirations and your dreams if you're really focused on just getting by day to day," she said.

But she says all of this is about way more than food.

"All of the charitable food in the world will not solve food insecurity," she added.

Which is why the food bank has gone back to the drawing board.

"To be able to catalyze our community to really come together to actually get at the real issue and not just solve someone's immediate need for food," she said. "If we can start moving in this way, maybe we can finally really solve food insecurity. Food insecurity has been a problem in our country for many, many years. So this actually feels like we're making steps to truly make a difference and ultimately reduce the need for our services over the long term. Having a community where people are not struggling with food insecurity and folks have a roof over their head, I think that's something we can all get behind."

And the KDKA Turkey Fund is just one of the many ways you can do your part to help the food bank help our neighbors.

And here's how you can donate to it. You can go to any PNC Bank. If you donate in person, they'll match all donations, up to $100,000. You can donate online at kdkaturkeyfund.com. You can text "kdturkey" to 50155. Or you can mail a check to P.O. Box Thanks, Pittsburgh, PA 15230.

From all of us at KDKA-TV, thank you!