Pittsburgh-area man who went viral for front yard food pantry launches mission to feed kids over summer break

A Whitehall man who went viral for turning his front yard into a food pantry says he's expanding his efforts to help keep kids fed over summer break. 

AJ Owen went viral on TikTok when he and his kids decided to figure out a way to keep hungry people fed when they weren't able to get SNAP benefits.

"Last November, when SNAP benefits were cut, we ran that food pantry in our front yard for five months throughout all of winter," Owen said. 

But with the change in seasons came a change in mission: feed kids over summer break. He said they have almost 50,000 servings of drinks, snacks and meals. And on Wednesday, even more food arrived at a storage and staging area in Castle Shannon.

"We have a semi-truck coming to deliver five pallets of food," Owen said. "We had one delivered earlier today, we had two pallets delivered last week and we have more coming in the weeks leading up to summer."

Donations, both cash and actual food, are coming from local and national companies and organizations. A small group of dedicated volunteers waited for Wednesday's delivery. 

"He's lit a fire that's really caught and spread," said volunteer Randy Wolfe. 

Meanwhile, Owen says about 1,600 kids have signed up for the program. 

"No one is going hungry this summer in Pittsburgh," Owen said.