The Scoop - Fall 2026: Working Group Updates
Land Access: The Land Access group is working to make it easier for people to find land to grow food in Pittsburgh and beyond. We've reviewed our past goals and are exploring a guide to help growers understand their options for leasing or owning land. We're also excited that changes to the Greenways program may offer longer leases for urban agriculture, giving growers more time to put down roots. This fall, we'll set goals for 2027 and build a way to track our progress. We extend our deepest gratitude to our current co-chairs, Dora Walmsley, Deputy Director of Grow Pittsburgh, and Hayly Hoch, Community Agriculture and Soils Program Manager at the Allegheny County Conservation District.
Community Composting: With growing energy around composting in Pittsburgh, the Community Compost Committee is bringing neighbors and local partners together to waste less food and build healthy soil. For Food Waste Prevention Week, we planned a hands-on volunteer day at the Hazelwood Food Recycling Site with InvolveMINT and Worm Return, plus food waste education at the North Side Farmers Market with the Pennsylvania Resources Council. We also met with the Pittsburgh Mayor's Office to call for stronger city composting infrastructure to keep food waste out of the trash. This fall, we're reviewing our past goals, setting new ones for 2027, and creating a simple way to track our progress. We extend our deepest gratitude to our current co-chairs, Chesapeake First, Zero Waste Program Manager at the Pennsylvania Resources Council, and Kelsey Sheridan, Food Policy Analyst and Legislative Aide in the Office of Councilwoman Gross, Pittsburgh City Council District 7.
County Food Justice Committee: The County Food Justice Committee grew out of interest in expanding the City's Food Justice Fund, along with recognition that many stakeholders outside City limits could benefit from a similar resource. Its focus has since grown to address needs both including and beyond an additional fund. Former and current co-chairs attended the August meeting with County Executive Sara Innamorato and staff from Allegheny County Economic Development. The committee, which meets monthly, shared two key documents with County staff:
- A "crosswalk" of the Greater Pittsburgh Food Action Plan and All In Allegheny, highlighting their mutually reinforcing goals
- Priority recommendations for County government
Good Food Purchasing: The Good Food Purchasing Program leverages public dollars to ensure food products reflect community values, such as: sustainability, nutrition, animal welfare, valued workforce, transparency and local economies. The PFPC has championed values-based purchasing regionally, leading a coalition to successfully pass the Good Food Purchasing Policy at Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) in 2021.
In close partnership with PPS Food Services Director, Malik Hamilton, the PFPC acquired funds and contracted the Center for Good Food Purchasing (‘the Center’) to complete a second assessment of all food purchases at Pittsburgh Public Schools, reflecting the school year 2024-2025. This report will allow the district to compare changes across the value categories from 2023. To ensure that the process is transparent, PPS Food Service Department and PFPC has engaged Pgh Learning Collaborative, the PPS Student Envoy program, and the PPS Parent Action Committee to share updates and collect community votes over the coming months.
The Allegheny County Kane Community Living Centers, which function as longer term care facilities, have committed to participating in a baseline assessment of food purchases for the most recent fiscal year. This will make Allegheny County the second institution, after Pittsburgh Public Schools, to review purchasing data within the scope of the ‘Good Food’ value categories! Funds raised by the PFPC were used to contract the Center for this assessment, and conversations with the food service management provider, Kane staff, and partners in the AC Department of Sustainability started in September.
In partnership with staff at the Center for Good Food Purchasing, we created an outline of the food contracts held by both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. This information will help guide conversations about contract languages, values-based purchasing, and partner outreach.
