Restaurant ECHO Launches Drive to Benefit Community Food Bank

Restaurant ECHO in Cranberry is launching its first-ever food drive to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Opened in 2010, Restaurant ECHO employs more than 40 people in the Cranberry Township area. In addition to producing breads, desserts and stocks in house, the restaurant also tends herb and vegetable gardens and has three beehives on the property along Route 228.

“As a member of the restaurant community, we serve food every day. Ultimately, though, eating at a restaurant is a luxury,” said Nicole Hammond, private events coordinator at the restaurant. “When we know that our neighbors are not food secure, it call us to action.

My team is going to win.”

As part of the food drive, Restaurant ECHO has divided into seven teams and assigned point values to the food bank’s most needed items to encourage friendly competition between staff members.

“Putting a competitive spin on giving back to the community has made it even more exciting, and I believe that the final outcome will bear that out. In the last three days, the donations are climbing the walls of our service hallway,” Hammond said.

The ECHO food drive continues through Nov. 21. Guests wishing to donate may bring non-glass, non-perishable food items or toiletries to the restaurant.

To learn more about the food drive, visit Restaurant ECHO’s website by clicking here.

-- Information submitted by Restaurant ECHO. Have news you'd like to share with Patch readers? Email information and photos to Editor Jessica Sinichak at jessica.sinichak@patch.com, visit our Neighborhood Gallery or start a blog in our Local Voices section.