Meetings underway for food bank transition in Washington County

Transition meetings are underway as the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank prepares to fight hunger in Washington County and offer food to local residents in need.
Several board members of the Greater Washington County Food Bank have met with the county commissioners and workers from the Pittsburgh organization in separate meetings last month as they figure out how the two food banks can work together to serve the local population.
The Pittsburgh food bank will be taking the lead role in Washington County after the county commissioners voted in mid-December to reallocate $280,000 in state and federal funds to that organization instead of the local food bank.
Chris Claspy, vice president of the Greater Washington County Food Bank’s board, met with Pittsburgh food bank officials Jan. 22 to discuss the current inventory at local pantries and how the relationship between the two organizations will work.
“We both most certainly have the same mission. We talked about how we want to continue to work together to serve the underserved in Washington County. We’re working out the details on how to transition,” Claspy said
“We both agree, unfortunately the needs in the county exceeds what one of us can do and there’s room for both of us to work together to help those in need,” he added.
Charlese McKinney, the director of partner network programs at the Pittsburgh food bank, also attended that meeting and said it was productive as they continue to plan how they will serve the local community. She said Greater Pittsburgh already has an 11-county network it serves and has a similar arrangement with Lawrence County that is being used as a model in Washington County.
“They’re letting us do our thing to see the proper transition,” McKinney said. “The commissioners just wanted to make sure we were working together and the folks in Washington County are being served.”
She promised all funds coming from Washington County will be “segregated” and then returned to the community by allocating “grants” for local food pantries to make purchases. The pantries will also have access to Pittsburgh’s larger food network, giving them more options for their clients, she said.
McKinney expects more meetings with the county officials and the Washington County food bank – including one the week of Feb. 15 – during the transition period, which she estimated will take three months to complete. She added that the Greater Washington County Food Bank will continue operating, although it’s still unclear whether Pittsburgh will directly manage the 11 pantries in the county.
“They are still going to be a viable organization and a resource for Washington County. We’re still talking about what that looks like. They are completely committed to their mission as it stands,” McKinney said. “Part of our conversations and transitions is who’s going to be doing specifically what, and those things are not completely worked out.”
County Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan and Nick Sherman said they received complaints last year about the operation of the Greater Washington County Food Bank, prompting them to vote to reallocate the money to Pittsburgh. Commissioner Larry Maggi voted against the decision.
Irey Vaughan said there have been concerns about the closure of more than a dozen local food pantries in recent years and issues with food quality. She also criticized the food bank’s “truck to trunk” plan that closed pantries within walking distance of neighborhoods and forced many people to drive farther to one of the remaining pantries, even though some clients don’t have cars.
Claspy, along with fellow food bank board members Ken Kulak and Donald Snoke, met with the commissioners Jan. 27 to discuss the future of the organization and how it can continue its mission of helping local residents.
“We talked about where we’re at and how we got to where we are,” Irey Vaughan said.
Connie Burd, executive director Washington County food bank, has not attended any of the planning meetings. Claspy said that was because the board asked her to instead focus on daily operations as the board works through the transition with the Pittsburgh food bank and county officials. Burd did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Claspy said last week’s meeting with the commissioners was productive and they reiterated their commitment to working with the county and their food bank counterparts in Pittsburgh.
“Any hurt feelings we’re putting that behind us. Our meeting with the Washington County commissioners was more forward looking than rearview mirror,” Claspy said. “We didn’t get into the motivations about the decision that was made. That’s in the past. We want to focus on what’s in front of us. We want to maintain open lines of communication.”