With grocery prices up 25% since 2021 and federal assistance now more unstable than ever, many in the Pittsburgh region face food insecurity this holiday season. They are not on their own, however, as a network of nonprofits, community sites and volunteers are gearing up to help, through an expansion of 412 Food Rescue’s Grocery Bagging Program. From Thanksgiving through Christmas, the project will pack additional grocery bags for households in need of support.

Founded in 2015, 412 Food Rescue bridges the last mile between good food at risk of going to waste and local communities at risk of going hungry, by transporting surplus from businesses to nonprofit distributors. With the participation of more than 450 local “food rescue heroes” each year, it has grown to be the largest volunteer food rescue organization in the country, and its Food Rescue Hero platform is used by 23 partners serving over 60 North American counties.

The organization’s Grocery Bagging Program already distributes 1,500 pounds of rescued food each week, ensuring that these fresh, nutritious items nourish local communities instead of rotting in a landfill. With an additional 300 bags to be distributed to local households through Blueprints in Washington County and Pittsburgh Community Services Inc. in Allegheny County over the course of the holiday season, the program will ease food pressures for hundreds.

“Every bag tells a story,” says 412 Food Rescue CEO Alyssa Cholodofsky. “Each delivery represents a family of our neighbors, with their unique histories, concerns and dreams, getting the support they deserve. And each delivery also tells the story of dedicated volunteers, nonprofits and stakeholders coming together to build the community we all need. Helping each other makes us stronger as a whole.”

Need food right away?

Call the United Way Resource hotline: 211 or visit https://www.pa211.org/
In Washington County: call the county’s resource hotline: (724) 228-1234

Want to help?

Become a Food Rescue Hero by downloading the app, and help transport food from local businesses with surplus to nonprofits that serve people facing food insecurity. You can volunteer as much or as little as you’d like: claim a weekly rescue to volunteer every week at the same place, same time; or claim a one-time rescue that needs to be transported right away. Most rescues take under an hour, and every delivery puts food on the tables of your neighbors. Don’t have the capacity to do rescues? Donations also make a big difference.

Want to contribute food from your business?

Do you operate a restaurant, grocery store, or venue that sometimes has to throw away perfectly good food because it wasn’t sold or eaten in time? Consider becoming a food donor, and let 412 Food Rescue take it off your hands to nourish the city — for free! Dispatchers coordinate rescues that work with your schedule, including on-demand pickups

“We work to bridge the distance not only between surplus food and hunger relief networks but also between people seeking to build stronger community with each other,” says 412 Food Rescue CEO Alyssa Cholodofsky. “Now more than ever, those connections are vital. Whether you’re contributing surplus food, a donation, or your time, you are our heroes. Together, we can overcome anything.”