KDKA-TV Turkey Fund highlights importance of helping others
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The 42nd annual KDKA-TV Turkey Fund is underway, and this year the need for food assistance is greater than it was at the height of the pandemic.
"Folks are struggling right now," said Chris West, director of community connections at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Workers and volunteers there see the need for food assistance first-hand. Remember the long lines for food during the peak of the pandemic? Well, even though the pandemic is over, the need is not.
"We've seen our call volume go up by 12% and food we distribute up by 11%," said West.
In the last year, the food bank delivered enough food for nearly 42 million meals across the 11-county area it serves. That's two million more meals than in 2020.
So why now?
West said, "Inflation has really taken its toll on families. And then emergency SNAP benefits stopped in March. Some people went from $400 to $23 a month."
Last year, the food bank received nearly 18,000 calls for food assistance and distributed 37 million pounds of food. And it's not just boxed and canned goods.
"One thing we're serving more of is fresh produce," said West.
More than 12 million pounds of fresh produce, last year, to be exact.
Some of that food is available at The Market, the food bank's on-site food pantry.
West said, "Just in its first year we've distributed one million pounds of food through The Market and served over 12,000 people."
The food bank also partners with about 1,000 food pantries across the area, which you can find on the food bank's website.
"There's actually a green find food button, and folks can find a pantry and distributions and what's close and convenient to them," said West.
As the need continues to increase, the food bank is hearing from more and more parents who are skipping meals so their children can eat.
"We're hearing every day from folks that are struggling to make ends meet to provide for themselves and their families to put enough food on the table," said West.
The food bank also is hearing from more and more senior citizens on fixed incomes who say they're now forced to gamble with their health.
West said, "In the past, it was that seniors were cutting back on their medication, and now we've had seniors tell us that they're not even filling their medication to begin with to try to make ends meet and get through the month."
And while the need is great year-round, it's this time of year when the food bank always sees an even bigger increase.
"Around Thanksgiving, people always want to have a good Thanksgiving meal, a Thanksgiving turkey. And we want to make sure that we can serve as many families as possible," said West.
That's why your donations to the KDKA-TV Turkey Fund are so critical every year, but especially this one.
