Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Holds Food Distribution At PPG Paints Arena
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Hundreds of people received boxes of food today from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. A three-hour emergency food distribution was held in the parking lots of PPG Paints Arena.
This was the second emergency distribution for the food bank this week. It was scheduled Friday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., and the food bank was prepared to serve 2,000 vehicles.
The event was a team effort, with partners including the Pittsburgh Penguins, Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council and the Pittsburgh Police. Officers were on hand to direct traffic.
"It's a place that's easy to get to, it's a place that's easy to recognize and then we also have the luxury of having space to hold a lot of vehicles and not disrupt traffic," said Charlese McKinney with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Hours before the distribution began, thousands of pounds of food were delivered to the PPG Paints Arena parking lots.
Like other food bank distributions, two boxes of food are placed into the trunk or back of each vehicle. Walk-ups weren't allowed and only those in a vehicle will be served.
"We're trying to arrange these geographically so we can broaden our reach as much as possible," said McKinney.
The food includes frozen meat and dry products. This is the second distribution in the arena's parking lots.
"We do have a number of Penguins staff here," said Tracey McCants Lewis, deputy general counsel with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Lewis added, "With no major events happening at the arena as well as most employees that park here that work in the city, with them not working we have these 28 acres, mostly free and open space."
The food bank says four more distribution events are scheduled for next week.
