Community kitchen pittsburgh: strengthening food security, nutrition, and employment opportunities will support the regional food economy, promoting local food, food access and nutrition, and…

Federal Grant Award Summary: Community Kitchen Pittsburgh

Community Kitchen Pittsburgh received a $752,000 Project Grant award dated September 15, 2025, under the Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program (CFDA 10.225), administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The four-year award (through September 14, 2029) supports the organization's comprehensive initiative to strengthen food security, nutrition access, and employment opportunities within the regional food economy of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

The grant funds multiple integrated service delivery components: daily provision of 2,000 meals through Community Kitchen Pittsburgh's community meals program to ensure food access across Pittsburgh neighborhoods; workforce development and culinary training in food services and butchery for jobseekers, with particular focus on underserved populations including women, people of color, socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, and previously incarcerated persons; job placement services connecting trained employees with food sector employers; and linkages between local farmers, food entrepreneurs, and institutional food purchasers to support local agricultural producers and farm-to-institution sourcing. These interconnected programs address both immediate hunger relief and systemic food system challenges in a county where 13% of residents experience food insecurity, one in three children are SNAP-eligible, and nearly half of food-insecure residents fall outside traditional assistance program eligibility.

Community kitchen pittsburgh: strengthening food security, nutrition, and employment opportunities will support the regional food economy, promoting local food, food access and nutrition, and providing long-term solutions to food security.CKP's programs directly address both immediate hunger relief and systemic food system challenges. By linking local farmers, food entrepreneurs, jobseekers, and employers, CKP supports a regional food economy that prioritizes nutrition, workforce development, and integrated solutions for food access. A strong regional food system is critical for a healthy overall economy. Here in allegheny county, the food economy contributes $12.9 billion to the county GDP, and employs 8% of the county's workforce. Ninety-five percent of the farms in the county are family owned with 27,000 acres devoted to food production.at the same time, 13% of the county's residents are food insecure, and 1 in 3 children are eligible for snap. The county has seen a 25% increase in food insecurity (and a 33% increase among children). That said, nearly half of the residents experiencing food access and food insufficiency issues are not eligible for snap, making community food access programs like community kitchen pittsburgh so critical for food access, as its programs reach both snap-eligible residents and distribute through other channels to ensure broad access.a comprehensive response to local food, food access, farm, and nutrition issues requires linking small farms with outlets for their products; IT requires linking job seekers with a sector in need of reliable, trained employees; IT requires reimagining institutional food in a way that prioritizes local sourcing and freshly prepared food; and IT requires solutions that seek to leverage existing resources to help address food access and food insufficiency. Community kitchen pittsburgh provides 2,000 meals a day through its community meals program to ensure food access across the city's many neighborhoods. With the planned new facility, the agency will be able to increase this food access program. Community kitchen pittsburgh also operates other food service businesses for which IT sources from local farms and producers, and prepares fresh meals, scratch prepared foods, and housemade retail butchery products in its facility. These products and services are sold direct to consumer and through other retailers and businesses, increasing the outlets for the small producers the agency sources from.community kitchen pittsburgh also provides short-term job training and job placement that addresses the immediate needs of a population that wants employment, and the needs of a sector that currently provides 80,000 regional jobs and is growing. A flourishing food and hospitality sector helps every other industry in our region recruit and retain a talented workforce and is instrumental in helping neighborhoods thrive and grow. And these jobs are *real* jobs for tens of thousands of COU, NTY residents. For some, the culinary industry may be a steppingstone, for others, IT's a lifelong career path. All of these activities are integrated – so the job training is embedded into the food services operations, including the community meal food access program, so that job seekers learn their culinary skills by giving back to the community, and by working on actual contracts, catering and events. These food services provide a foundation for training and transitional employment opportunities; they help support food access and food security work; they provide outlets for the produce and livestock from the region's small farms; and they cover half of the agency's operating budget, making the agency less reliant on charitable support, while increasing community impact. We strive for our food service enterprises, food access programs, and training programs to connect and support the regional food economy; to be an asset for the entire community; and to create lifelong opportunities for people who need employment.