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Ending Hunger One Bite at a Time - The Westmoreland County Food Bank moves forward with the pilot project in Jeannette and surrounding areas.
A GAP Study conducted in 2007 determined that there were 40,000 additional people in Westmoreland County who qualified for our services but were not currently receiving them. The Westmoreland County Food Bank Board of Directors and staff members decided to align with Feeding America’s strategic plan to focus on finding new food, new friends and new funds to expand services to those in need throughout the county. The United Way partnered with WCFB for support in developing a plan to reach the underserved.
In July 2008 the areas of Jeannette, Penn, Harrison City and Grapeville were selected for the Jeannette Area Pilot Project. From July 2008 through March 2009 we were in an “Exploratory Phase” for the project gathering input from the community and developing an action plan with measurable goals for outreach and expansion. A Pantry Program Expansion Model has been developed. This model will serve as a template to help us develop action plans to expand services in all underserved areas of Westmoreland County.
April 2009- Moving into the “Action Phase”
What’s New?
A Pantry Advisory Committee has been set up and members meet monthly to discuss and monitor the project’s progress. The committee includes members of the WCFB staff and Board of Directors as well as pantry coordinators and members of the existing Agency Advisory Committee. Work has been geared towards developing methods to streamline the food distributions at the Jeannette pantries to allow for maximum participation. We have also implemented various other changes to help the pantries run more smoothly & streamline the statistics reporting process. The main focus will be on developing new food drives, support for the pantries and developing volunteer support & retention.
A direct distribution of monthly food boxes is being offered to the residents of the Jeannette Manor High Rise. This distribution is currently in the process of being set up with the first distribution scheduled for May 2009. Many residents of the Jeannette Manor have various restrictions that keep them from being able to participate in the Food Pantry Distribution Program. All Manor residents will be evaluated for eligibility and will be offered the services if they qualify for them.
Signs- Soon all of the Jeannette pantries will have signs placed on the outside of the building designating them as a Westmoreland County Food Bank pantry. The signs will have the distribution dates on them with WCFB contact information to assist with pantry referrals.
For more information on this project, please contact Project Manager, Texie Waddell at 724-468-8660 ext. 20 or email her at texie@westmorelandfoodbank.org.
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