Restaurant ECHO Launches Drive to Benefit Community Food Bank

Guests are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to the Cranberry eatery.

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 …

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Claim Your Directory Listing to Help the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank

For every listing claimed by a local business during March, we will donate $5 in Patch advertising to the food bank that serves southwestern Pennsylvania.

Here We Go! Rally for the Steelers Friday in Downtown Pittsburgh

The rally will start at noon in the courtyard of the Allegheny County Courthouse.

To support the Pittsburgh Steelers as they head into their wild-card playoff game Sunday against the Denver Broncos, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl have planned a “Break the Broncos Rally” at noon today in the courtyard of the Allegheny County Courthouse, Downtown.  Fitzgerald and Ravenstahl have declared Friday to be "Black & Gold Day" and are asking rally participants to bring black-and-gold decorations and Steelers paraphernalia to decorate a 20-foot "Terrible Tree."  They're also asking rally-goers to bring non-perishable canned goods or make a cash donation to support the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The event will feature live music, a Steelers trivia contest and a limited …

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Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, Cranberry Gleaners, Takes On Added Economic Challenges

Through the tough times, the organizations push forward to end hunger.

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank continues to put food on the tables of people in need across the region—with the number of families served growing every month because of an economy riddled with layoffs, unemployment benefits running out and other economic challenges. Iris Valanti, public relations director at the food bank, said the group serves about 120,000 people per month, and each month this year there were about 3,500 new clients. “We are seeing the results of some layoffs and unemployment and also underemployment—people making less wages or working part-time,” Valanti said. “The economy has definitely made a difference.” In 2009, the food bank was serving 1,500 new families a month; in 2010, that number grew to 2,500 new …

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There's Still Time to Donate to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank's Fall FoodShare

Giant Eagle and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank have teamed up to collect donations.

The latest reports about hunger from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, which serves 11 counties, show that more than 20 percent of children in southwestern Pennsylvania don't get enough to eat to live an active healthy life. Fall FoodShare is the nonprofit's largest food and fund drive of the fall. You can purchase a few most-needed grocery items at participating Giant Eagle stores, make a cash donation at the register or donate online through the virtual drive to help make sure local children get enough to eat all year long. The Giant Eagle on Route 228 in Seven Fields has been participating in the drive. Fall FoodShare includes about 60 Giant Eagle stores throughout western Pennsylvania. All food and funds donated stay in the …

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