Wilkinsburg Community Ministry

The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry (WCM) operates a food pantry for residents of Wilkinsburg and neighboring areas to address nutrition and food insecurity in the east Allegheny County area. The operation area includes East Homewood, Park Place, Regent Square, Swissvale, Swisshelm Park, Edgewood, & East Hills, approximately a radius of 7 miles from our central office. Our Mobile Pantry reaches as far as Larimer and Sharpsburg. 4500 families a month! 15000 children a year Veterans, Seniors, Working people, Homeless! Check out our profile on  GuideStar!

Food insecurity in our neighborhoods is fierce because poverty is high--nearly twice as much as the county average and in some areas, three to four times.  The general poverty rate in our service area stands at 16.6%, which is roughly 1.4 times higher than the Pennsylvania state average of 11.7%. A high percentage of food insecure households are headed by women.  Child poverty is exceptionally steep at 24%, a direct byproduct of the financial hardships facing single-parent households. Across Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh metro area, female-headed households with children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to married-couple or male-led households. According to the Pennsylvanians Poverty Prosperity Report, the number one reason low-income women remain out of the workforce or underemployed is the prohibitive cost or lack of child care and caregiving responsibilities (43%). Women in Pennsylvania earn an average of 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. This gap widens significantly for Black and Hispanic women, who comprise a significant portion of the population in the Mon Valley and eastern suburbs and particularly in the WCM service area.

 WCM partnered with several local grocery stores to accept produce, meats, and canned goods that the stores could not use. In 2022, the partnership with 412 Food Rescue brought WCM a regular supply of “rescued” food from Giant Eagle, Market District, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods, plus several corner stores, bakeries, and food cooperatives. Partnerships with local farmers, Grow Pittsburgh, and several farm markets expanded WCM’s supply of fresh vegetables, and, in the winter, WCM budgeted enough to purchase fresh fruits and veggies from a local wholesaler.  Through a combination of food donations, fresh produce, and local gardens, WCM provides essential meals to 4,500 households each month and has developed a mobile food truck to share the impact of that work throughout the community.  Our robust food source model allows us to feed many for little: in 2026, the typical cost of a week of meals for a family of three  (mom, grandma, one child, and not including a teenager) is $42.00-$45.00; indeed, this represents almost 2.5 times the dollar amount from 2023, but it is still considerably less expensive than the store.  We also provide paper towels & toilet paper, tissues, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, etc.

Wilkinsburg Community Ministry (WCM) has matured from a small, social services organization providing a wide variety of services to a thriving nonprofit focused on alleviating food insecurity in some of Allegheny County's under-resourced communities. WCM also pioneered the philosophy that we share food with our neighbors rather than hand out food. We do this partly by offering the opportunity to select foods rather than receiving pre-packaged boxes of food. This approach makes it clear that we are all part of this community together; we are neighbors helping neighbors. 

In another development, we have recently completed the purchase of a building in Wilkinsburg that will finally provide sufficient space, proper handicapped access, and the opportunity to work more completely with other nonprofits in the community.  The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry work is a testament to the power of neighbors helping neighbors!