Since the very beginning of Covid-19 related restaurant restrictions, Pittsburgh Restaurant Workers Aid has been collecting and distributing food resources to low income people in our community who have lost wages and tips. What started as a small group of caring industry workers dropping a few groceries or meals on porches has bloomed into a network that assists up to 200 households every week with food, baby care items, and pet supplies. Our volunteers deliver care packages directly to the doors of folks who can not access resources on their own, often due to lack of transportation, health concerns, or childcare responsibilities.

While many of our recipients’ needs are met by in-kind donations and partnerships with organizations such as 412 Food Rescue and the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank, we often have requests for kid friendly food that go unanswered. Approximately 40% of the households we aid have children in their care, and resources such as milk, eggs, proteins, and occasional treats are essential to their health and happiness. This fund would allow us to keep these in-demand items on hand, to include in the care packages going out to households with kids upon request. 

This is especially necessary as families face tough decisions and uncertainty around the return to school. As Covid-19 health concerns continue, many caretakers will make the necessary decision to stay home from work to care for their families. If and when classrooms do close, parents and guardians will not have this choice. The uncertainty of access to safe classroom environments, as well as the halted supplemental pandemic uninsurance benefits that families were relying on to survive, are putting immense stress on the families of restaurant workers, who feel as if they have run out of resources. We need to make sure that these workers and their children don’t face hunger.