As the government shutdown continues, many in our communities are about to lose their SNAP benefits and are left wondering how to keep their families fed, with no sign of relief to come anytime soon. Fortunately, many of our local business owners are stepping up and offering free meals, hosting food drives, and more to ensure no one goes hungry, especially as we inch closer and closer to the holiday season.
To help people find out and keep track of where they can get help, I've compiled the list below, including businesses in surrounding counties, organized by county and listed alphabetically, with a brief overview of what is being offered. Business names will link back to their original posts, if applicable, but because not everyone has social media, the small "x" next to each one will also link to screenshots of the posts so all the necessary information can be accessed quickly and easily here, no social-media logins required. All offers begin Saturday, Nov. 1, unless otherwise noted.
This list will be updated as additional information becomes available. If you know of any business or resources not included, please reach out and I will add them as soon as I can. I will be making a separate post for food drives, dinners, etc. specific to Thanksgiving.
Past events, such as food drives, will be represented by a strikethrough, as opposed to deleting them entirely.
In the interest of protecting privacy, I will not be sharing food drives, pantries, etc. being held by individuals out of their homes.
You can also find a list of local food pantries here, as well as a list of resources from PA Career Link here. Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi has also compiled this list.
Take care of each other.
Allegheny County
- Catholic Community of Bloomfield Food Pantry - distribution occurs the third Saturday of each month from 7-10 a.m. for residents in the 15224 zip code
- East End Cooperative Ministry (EECM) - food pantry open Monday through Friday, 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m, also serving free hot lunch in their dining Monday through Friday, noon-1 p.m.
- St. Mary Magdalene Parish Food Pantry - open every second and fourth Wednesday, 9-11 a.m., offers delivery for residents in Pittsburgh's East End
- Madeleine Bakery and Bistro (x) - free loaf of sourdough bread, with documentation of benefits
- Mount Ararat Commnity Activity Center Food Bank - operates every second Saturday, 10 a.m. until 12 p.m.
- South Hills Interfaith Ministry (x) - food pantry distribution, click here for the full list of dates and locations
- Squirrel Hill Food Pantry - open weekdays, click here for operating hours
- Three Rivers Film Festival - free film screenings with EBT/SNAP card
Beaver County
- Annie Lee's Southern Kitchen - collecting donations of money and non-perishable items
Fayette County
- Coffee at Crawford (x, x) - collecting donations of money and non-perishable food items, each donation allows you to nominate someone to win a $40 Thanksgiving meal from Aldi
- DiMarco's (x) - free chicken and biscuit dinner, available for pickup once a week with EBT card and ID
- Fat Angelo's Cardale Location (x) - one free large cheese pizza, available for pickup once a week with EBT card. 10% off additional orders throughout the week.
- Fat Angelo's Lemont Furnace location (x) - one free large pizza, available for pickup once a week with EBT card and additional info. You can donate to this initiative by rounding up when you place an order.
- O.A.K. Pizza (x) - free pizza for the youth and elderly daily from 4-6 p.m., beginning Friday, Nov. 7. You can also donate to support this initiative.
Washington County
- Burgettstown Food Drive - through Nov. 7. Dropoff at Kramer’s Greenhouse. Also includes pet food.
- Burgettstown Senior Center - food pantry open to any who need it
- City Mission Soup Kitchen - serving free meals daily, click here for operating hours
- Food Helpers (x) - collecting food donations at Baxter's Arcade, Nate's Chop House, and Toscana
- Greater Washington County Food Bank - locations in Centerville and Southpointe, accepting monetary donations. Full distribution schedule can be found here.
- Nineteen North (x) - free spaghetti dinner, Dec. 11 3-8 p.m.
- PathWays - turkey dinner box giveaway, Thursday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m.
- Peters Township Public Library (x) - accepting food donations
- Pretzels Plus -
food drive ending Friday, Oct. 31. Also accepting donations through Amazon. - Scenery Hill Community Center (x) - accepting donations of non-perishable food items on Election Day, Nov. 4
- The Scoop Dog Creamery (x) - pet food drive Nov. 1-18 at Cranberry Psychological Center, Desire to Be Well Juicery (Southpointe and Quail Acres locations), Eighty Four Agway, Guten Morgan Kennels, The Washington Winery, and VetPets of SWPA HQ.
- Vintage Secrets Antique Mall - food drive Nov. 14-23
- Washington Christian Outreach - serving lunch on weekdays, click here for operating hours
- Washington County Democratic Committee (x) - virtual food drive benefiting LeMoyne Community Center
Westmoreland County
- Blackburn Center (x) - accepting donations of gift cards
- Caffe Barista and Cutie's Coffee Company - meal distribution Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2-5 p.m. Donations also accepted.
- Cattfeinated Cat Cafe (x) - food drive though Nov. 26
