Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 4:58PM |  18°
MENU
Advertisement
Zaire Dupree of Brackenridge reacts while enjoying a meal with Shane Drum, left, of Tarentum and Ely Bowser-Field, right, of  Brackenridge at the Allegheny Valley Salvation Army Worship and Service Center in Brackenridge in March 2018.
3
MORE

Salvation Army receives $40,000 Bayer Fund grant to provide more fresh food

Lake Fong/Post-Gazette

Salvation Army receives $40,000 Bayer Fund grant to provide more fresh food

People in three communities will have more wholesome food choices this year thanks to a grant The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division received recently for its Feeding Families for Life initiative.

The Bayer Fund awarded $40,000 to the social services organization, which plans to use it to make fresh produce, lean proteins and other healthy meal options readily available in Brackenridge, Greensburg and New Kensington.

good food

Feeding Families for Life aims to make fresh, healthy food more accessible to families in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and food deserts — urban areas where it is difficult to find affordable, good-quality fresh food.

Advertisement

The Bayer Fund is a philanthropic arm of the global healthcare and agricultural corporation, which has a pharmaceutical company in O'Hara and whose American headquarters were once in Robinson. Bayer is now based in New Jersey.

Potatoes are a great source of fiber.
Hunter Boyce
These ‘bad’ carbs are actually worth eating

It awards grants for projects focused on food and nutrition, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, education and health and wellness to benefit those employees and customers living in communities surrounding its business locations.

The food and nutrition programs it supports targets underserved communities, rural communities and families with children under the age of 5.

With healthy food increasingly expensive, the grant came at the right time, said Major Gregory Hartshorn, divisional commander of The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division in Carnegie.

Advertisement

“No one in our community should go without the nourishment they need to thrive,” he said as he thanked the Bayer Fund for helping the organization ensure families access to healthy food.

Bayer Fund President Al Mitchell said programs like Feeding Families for Life help combat the critical issue of food insecurity.

“We're proud to play a role helping even more people in our community have access to nutritious food,” he said.

Last year, the fund donated $30,000 toward the program, which was used to support the Love in a Backpack weekend feeding program, ensuring that 120 students at Nicely Elementary and Greensburg Middle School had healthy food options when they were not in school. The grant also enabled the Brackenridge Salvation Army location to prepare healthy food options for adults and youth on a weekly basis.

Additionally, volunteers from The Salvation Army and Bayer's local office helped build garden beds at the Salvation Army’s New Kensington location in May, providing vegetables year-round.

“It was a beautiful day that will have a lasting impact on the health and well-being of our neighbors in need,” said Lauren Brant, director of corporate engagement of The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division, who was among the volunteers.

First Published: January 26, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: January 26, 2024, 6:15 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (3)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Mt. Lebanon's Kim Seaver (back row, right) was a member of the Post-Gazette Fabulous 5 girls basketball all-star team in 1996. Other players are (from front left) Monessen's Gina Naccarato, Penn Hills' LynnDee Howell, McKeesport's Swin Cash and (front right) Mount Pleasant's Michelle Katkowski.
1
sports
Mike White's Prep Talk: Basketball stars of yesteryear have sons and daughters in WPIAL quarterfinals
Gov. Josh Shapiro is joined in the broadcast booth by Curtis Aiken before the start of Pitt-Syracuse on Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center.
2
sports
Gov. Josh Shapiro aims to make Pennsylvania 'compete' in NIL, bring 'stability' to transfer portal
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)
3
news
McCormick on board with Trump, DOGE shakeup while Fetterman blasts ‘chaos, confusion’
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton (95) celebrates an interception against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in the Northshore. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 27-14.
4
sports
Gerry Dulac's Steelers chat: 02.19.25
Pirates owner Bob Nutting talks to fans during spring training at the Pirates training facility, Pirate City in Bradenton, Florida, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.
5
sports
Joe Starkey: Pirates are more culpable than Dodgers in MLB’s payroll disparity farce
Zaire Dupree of Brackenridge reacts while enjoying a meal with Shane Drum, left, of Tarentum and Ely Bowser-Field, right, of Brackenridge at the Allegheny Valley Salvation Army Worship and Service Center in Brackenridge in March 2018.  (Lake Fong/Post-Gazette)
Sara Marie Baldi, left, and Evelyn Caldwell admire beds filled with vegetables planted in Dormont as part of the Salvation Army's Feeding Families for Life initiative in August 2021.  (Post-Gazette)
Lataya Brucker, 7, of Tarentum, counts how many yogurts she ate during an after-school program in 2018 at the Allegheny Valley Salvation Army Worship and Service Center in Brackenridge.  (Post-Gazette)
Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST life
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story