Food For Thought
The Pittsburgh Food Policy Council is proud to have wrapped up the second cohort of the Pittsburgh Food Equity Ambassador pilot program. This program was part of the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge. The “PghFoodTeam” participating in this challenge composed of partners from the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council, City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Health Department, American Heart Association -- Greater Pittsburgh, and One Pennsylvania.The program was designed to center residents’ voices and the leadership of those most impacted by food inequities in developing local policy solutions. You can read more about the program HERE.
At the heart of the Ambassador program is the acknowledgement that citizens know their community’s needs and assets best. By compensating Ambassadors for their expertise, creating open communication channels with local decision makers, and providing information on City and County food policy, the Pittsburgh Food Equity Ambassadors program equipped Ambassadors to positively impact their communities by creating and implementing solutions that address food apartheid. Dontae Gordon, a resident of Beechview (City County District 4) was a member of the second cohort of Ambassadors. Below Dontae shares his experience with food insecurity, becoming an Ambassador, and his instrumental role in addressing food access in communities across Pittsburgh.
Growing up in a single parent household whilst living in several low-income communities around the City of Pittsburgh, keeping food on the table was never an easy task for my mom. Living off of government assistance and food stamps kept my family and many other families we knew above water. Assistance programs like free summer lunches were staples in my neighborhood. These experiences influenced me and made me want to enact change in my community. I realized that to make that happen I needed more experience and information about food policy and the underlying causes of food insecurity to build off of the experience I had as a child.
It was by happenstance that I stumbled upon the Pittsburgh Food Equity Ambassadors opportunity. Being accepted as a representative of the community that I live in was a blessing to be able to brainstorm with other members of communities around the city, with our combined experiences and perspectives. I thought that was pivotal in trying to change things involving food insecurities. These are the people that are experiencing these very same issues RIGHT NOW! With meetings every two weeks via Zoom we were able to discuss topics like food scarcity, food accessibility, the need for more urban agriculture and getting support from local officials. Although the results were not instant I found myself looking for something else I could do to help my community.
After attending a City of Pittsburgh Food Access Network meeting, I took the initiative to reach out to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s Innovations Coordinator Alex Walsh about my interest in hosting a food distribution site in Beechview. What I had in mind was a nice community event to get some free food to families that need it the most. We needed a location so I suggested the Carnegie Library because of its central location and high foot traffic. After working out the logistics with the food bank and the library we had a date and time – July 19th from 12pm - 3pm. The event would give people an opportunity to come get food and visit the library to sign up for a card and check out some books. We even had support from the local Latino community center Casa San Jose, with a Spanish speaking translator there to help with translations. With fresh produce from local farms like Wexford Farm, we had enough food to feed about 80 families. Folks could choose from fresh foods like pineapples, collard greens, green beans, corn and plums, among other things.
With a nice line formed we were able to safely and sanitarily pass out all the food within 2 hours. I felt bad that people continued to show up after the food was long gone. Overall the distribution was received well and the library enjoyed the turnout so much that they wanted us to expand to other library branches in communities that could use the support. So, we currently have 5 locations on the schedule for next quarter: Hazelwood, Sheraden, Beechview (#2), Knoxville and Carrick.
Being able to service the community in collaboration with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and The Carnegie Library is a dream come true. The dedication that goes into preparing for each of the distributions is nothing short of amazing. The overall goal to help out those in need is what motivates me – enough food to get that single mother through until she gets paid next. That is what I'm doing it for.
Dontae Gordon
Pittsburgh Food Equity Ambassador (District 4)
Photo captions:
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank & Carnegie Library food distribution event (from left to right Evelyn Furrick & Alex Walsh GPCFB staff and Dontae Gordon Pittsburgh Food Equity Ambassador)
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank & Carnegie Library food distribution event
