A plan to spend $3 million in federal aid money to address food inequity in Pittsburgh took a step forward Wednesday. Pittsburgh City Council preliminarily approved a four-page proposal that sets out a framework for how the money could be spent.
After years of lobbying by local food equity groups, the city earmarked $3 million in federal aid money in this year’s budget to create a food justice program designed to address food insecurity. Council members and food justice advocates have been meeting since then to determine how to allocate the funds.
The proposal splits the money into two streams: one to make big investments in citywide food access and the other to support community groups.
The first category budgets $1.1 million toward projects that cost between $75,000 and $500,000. The city would hire a food justice coordinator to identify appropriate projects that improve food access and consumer health. The plan names examples that include expanding grocery stores, direct food access relief programs and urban agricultural investments.
Kathyrn Vargas, Pittsburgh’s Director of Parks and Recreation, told council members Wednesday that these larger investments are vital to fill in the gaps in Pittsburgh’s food access network. “There’s everything from growing food, producing food, getting food to people, consuming food,” she said. “The system has all of those pieces to it.”
Under the second category of the proposal, $1.5 million would be awarded to small community groups through grants that can range between $2,000 and $75,000. The grant program would be administered by a third-party group yet to be determined. After a bidding process, that group would begin accepting grant proposals this fall, and checks could be awarded as early as next spring.
Another $400,000 is budgeted to cover administrative costs, hich include the food justice coordinator position and paying the third-party organization that would award grants.
Vargas said the plan will allow the city to make “system-level investments” that could lead to a “transformative” change in how people access food across Pittsburgh.
But she added that the plan doesn’t commit to specific project ideas because she and other advocates wish to seek community input before making these investments.
“We wanted to be able to have a more robust community dialog,” she explained.
Anti-hunger groups, urban farmers and other food justice advocates have been lobbying for a “food justice fund” over the course of two mayoral administrations. The money to support the current initiative comes from the 2021 federal COVID-19 relief package known as the American Rescue Pan. The city was awarded $335 million from the aid program.
Advocates — who noted that hunger issues were exacerbated as a result of the pandemic — began calling on then-Mayor Bill Peduto to spend some of the funds on food inequity. They continued that effort under Mayor Ed Gainey, calling for a $10 million food justice fund. Ultimately the city allotted a third of that by pulling some support away from the city’s struggling land bank.
Food-justice advocates have been a fixture in council chambers throughout the discussion around how the $3 million could be spent. Half a dozen people spoke in support of the proposal Wednesday during council’s meeting.
And while members of council largely spoke in favor of the proposal, council president Theresa Kail-Smith suggested there could be changes before a final vote takes place next week. One of them could involved how the program’s “food justice coordinator” is funded. Kail-Smith said she plans to meet with members of the Gainey administration to determine whether the position can be paid by transferring the salary earmarked for a vacant position in another department.
Part of Kail-Smith’s concern stems from uncertainty about how the food justice program will be funded after federal money runs out. The city must allocate the federal aid by the end of 2024 and spend it by 2026. After that, it’s unclear here money from the program may come from.
Federal aid “cannot be the only way this is funded for the future, Kail-Smith said. "We've got to get some funding for these types of programs from our business communities, from other people across the region."
Vargas argued that once the city gets the program rolling, local philanthropic organizations could be inspired to join in. She said the city’s program will “spark and establish the work,” that could later be picked up by nonprofit organizations.
“That public investment transforms into dollars that come from the philanthropic community and others who get involved in the work,” Vargas said. “If you look at other cities, [they have] made that transition.”
Council members are set to take a final vote on the food justice program next week.
