Jun 29, 2021 3 min read

The Greater Washington County Food Bank announced Monday it’s renaming the organization “Food Helpers” as the nonprofit looks to rebrand itself and lay out a new vision on how it will help the community.

Food Helpers will operate as an umbrella organization that offers a wide range of resources and education for people with food insecurities, according to a press release.

The food bank will remain in some capacity within the overall organization, which also includes a “Healthy Habits” education and training center; the County Thrift Market, which that will continue to offer discounted clothing and home goods at its Centerville store; and “The Farm,” which teaches farming techniques and offers a weekly market each Tuesday.

Food bank officials said the rebranding effort is the culmination of a five-year effort to remake the organization. Executive Director Connie Burd noted that the Greater Washington County Food Bank will remain as one of the four divisions under the Food Helpers umbrella.

“During the past five years, Greater Washington County Food Bank has been transforming the food banking industry with innovative and proactive approaches to address the unique problems that cause food insecurity,” Burd said in a written statement. “We have grown to be so much more than a food bank and so we needed a new brand to represent that growth.”

The change comes nearly seven months after the Washington County commissioners decided in December to redirect more than $240,000 in state and federal funds from the food bank to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. In reallocating the funds, the commissioners essentially selected the Pittsburgh food bank to manage the food pantries in the county and operate other distribution drives.

While there were initial discussions about the two food banks working together, Greater Washington County Food Bank officials hinted at the rebranding plan in April when they announced the organization would be going in a separate direction after Pittsburgh took the lead in providing food distribution in the county beginning on June 30.

Among the new initiatives Food Helpers is launching this year is the Community Outreach Food Program, which will use the food bank’s “Truck to Trunk” delivery operation that began in late 2019. The Short Term Emergency Program, or STEP, will prepare and deliver hot meals to people with short-term health conditions and who have a limited support system at home or are recently unemployed.

The food bank itself will continue to administer the state’s Senior Food Box program in Washington County, which provides nutritious food to low-income people over the age of 60 either at their living facilities or through local distribution.

“Our community has proven time and again over the years that it wishes to help, and so we are optimistic that the tremendous community support we received under our previous brand will continue under our new Food Helpers brand,” board President Chris Claspy said in a written statement.

The rebranding effort included a new logo and redesigned website at www.FoodHelpers.org that explains the four divisions within the nonprofit and the roles they will play in the community.