We Won a Food Justice Fund!

After a year and a half of advocacy, we are thrilled to share that $3 million was included in the City of Pittsburgh’s 2023 budget to create a Food Justice Fund. Thank you to everyone who testified at public hearings, attended Food Justice Fund Committee meetings, and helped to make this major victory possible! Now that funding has been secured, we will work with City Council to ensure that those funds are distributed through an equitable and transparent process that truly benefits those most impacted by inequities in access to affordable, healthy food.

What is the Food Justice Fund?

The Food Justice Fund is a way to invest in grassroots, community-led projects to address food apartheid. The following documents provide more detail on how the fund will operate.

update

Tier 2 Funding Recommendations Announced!

We’re excited to share that City Council has officially approved the Priority 1 Awards for the Pittsburgh Food Justice Fund! The FJF Governance Committee, made up of community-rooted volunteers and food systems experts, carefully reviewed nearly 100 applications and selected a final list of awardees to recommend for funding.

Grant Snapshot
A total of $1.5 million was awarded, with individual grants capped at $75,000. Funding will support activities like:

  • Distributing free food and meals

  • Supporting community gardens and nonprofit urban agriculture

  • Creating jobs and youth employment in food system-related fields

Council District Breakdown
Here’s how the funding was distributed across the city:

  • District 1 (Wilson): $77,682

  • District 2 (Kail-Smith): $135,000

  • District 3 (Charland): $122,681

  • District 4 (Coghill): $75,000

  • District 5 (Warwick): $180,800

  • District 6 (President Lavelle): $105,634

  • District 7 (Gross): $28,579

  • District 8 (Strassburger): $18,470

  • District 9 (Mosley): $393,753

  • Multiple districts: $152,764

  • Citywide projects: $209,645

Click here to download (pdf) the full list which is below of recommended organizations and allocations.

Organizations recommended for FJF funding

  • Abiding Missions

  • Ballfield Farm, fiscally sponsored by Perry Hilltop Citizens Council Ballfield Farm

  • Beechview's Eating Healthy, fiscally sponsored by Casa San Jose

  • Birth Your Way, fiscally sponsored by New Sun Rising

  • Farm to Table Buy Local

  • Fishers of Men Community Development Corporation

  • Friendship Community Presbyterian Church

  • Garfield Community Farm

  • Greentech Rising Organization Inc

  • Hilltop Urban Farm

  • I am Foundation

  • Involvemint Inc.

  • ISLAMIC CENTER OF PITTSBURGH

  • JADA House International

  • Larimer Consensus Group

  • Mwanakuche Farm Inc

  • Northside Food Pantry Advisors, fiscally sponsored by United Methodist Church Union

  • Out Of The End Incorporated

  • Petra Community Connections Garden, fiscally sponsored by Tamion Enterprises

  • Polish Hill Civic Association

  • POORLAW

  • PTA Pennsylvania Congress - Dilworth Traditional Academy PTA

  • The Octopus Garden, fiscally sponsored by New Sun Rising

  • TransYOUniting

  • Troy Hill Citizens

  • Unshakeable Motherhood Maternal Care in the Food Deserts, fiscally sponsored by New Sun Rising

  • Valley View Presbyterian Church

  • We Cook, We Eat, We Live, fiscally sponsored by New Sun Rising

  • West End P.O.W.E.R.

  • Wild Indigo Guild, fiscally sponsored by Pittsburgh Presbytery Wild Indigo Guild

Council Timeline Recap

  • Introduced: July 8

  • Committee Vote: Passed out of committee

  • Final Vote: Approved on Tuesday, July 22 (watch live)

Nonprofit partner New Sun Rising will manage the fund distribution. All awardees will now move into the contracting phase before funds are officially disbursed.