Fresh Fishes and Loaves for Hazelwood
The world is dotted by places called “food deserts”. They exist in the United
States in communities where local food retailers began to close and in developing
countries where natural disasters, like drought or floods, are destroying crops
season after season. To recover and turn things around, these communities
often need the support of people who care, who tackle challenges head-on, and
who work through partnerships. Part of the equation is having resources to help
turn things around.
CRS Rice Bowl, Catholic Relief Services’ Lenten program, known for its colorful
cardboard box and mission to help others, is on the team in dioceses across the
U.S. and in 91 countries overseas. The program makes the global-local
connection when it comes to ending hunger and alleviating poverty for people
around the world.
Hazelwood is a neighborhood of Pittsburgh and was once a hub of social and
economic activity. But not today; it now suffers from a lack of jobs. In the 1980s,
before the closing of the locomotive repair shop and the steel mill, Hazelwood
was home to 50,000 people.
Only about 5,000 people now call Hazelwood home. Movie theaters, restaurants,
grocery stores and other businesses shut their doors as people left town. The last
grocery store, Dimperio’s Market, closed in 2009 leaving Hazelwood a Food
Desert: a place where there is no easy access to fresh meat and produce. What’s
left for the citizens is a local convenience store and pharmacy that sell packaged
foods and dairy, but they charge high prices for the convenience of shopping
there.
The situation looked bleak until a group of community leaders, the Hazelwood
Initiative, and city government officials came to the table. They invited a new
player, Keystone Development Corporation (KDC), to help identify ways to
improve access to fresh food in the community. While KDC had experience
starting co-operative stores and Buying Clubs in rural areas, they had no
experience with a Buying Club in the city. Initial discussions about starting a food
co-op stalled, so KDC turned to the local churches and proposed starting a Buying
Club. At that moment, a new partnership was born to put an end to hunger in
Hazelwood. Together, St. Stephen Catholic Church, the Hazelwood Presbyterian
Church, KDC and the Hazelwood Initiative formed the Fishes and Loaves
Cooperative Ministries Buying Club. The club purchases fresh food at lower
prices and passes the savings on to its customers.
Now that there was a name, the next steps were to find financial support and
purchase food. Local folks from the diocese, Deacon Tom Berna and Fr. Dan
Walsh, got the ball rolling and secured an interest-free loan of $2,000 from the
Diocese of Pittsburgh. The funds came from the 25 percent share of CRS Rice
Bowl funds that remain with the diocese to help local agencies. CRS’ Diocesan
Director, Helene Paharik, played an instrumental role in identifying these funds.
While 75 percent of funds raised through CRS Rice Bowl support hunger fighting
programs in developing countries, one quarter of the funds stay in the diocese
where they were raised to address local needs, such as the lack of fresh food in
Hazelwood.
Next, the Fishes and Loaves Cooperative Ministries Buying Club teamed up with
the Robert Wholey Company (known for supplying fresh fish and other groceries)
and with Manchini’s Bakery (a family-owned bakery in Pittsburgh) to purchase
fresh food at significant savings.
“The grant of $2,000 initially allowed us to purchase a commercial scale for
weighing produce, and the remaining funds allowed us to hold prices steady, for
example, when produce prices spike in the winter,” said Deacon Berna. “We have
since received other grants, but the initial grant was critical to getting started.”
The doors of Fishes and Loaves opened to its first customers in June 2011, at
Hazelwood Towers, a high-rise apartment building for senior citizens and people
with disabilities. On the first and third Saturday of each month Fishes and Loaves
fills the residents’ orders. Volunteers shop Saturday morning, then package the
food orders and deliver them to Hazelwood Towers by noon.
Fishes and Loaves has also been donating bread, eggs and fruit on the first
Saturday of the month for the residents to prepare a breakfast in the community
room of the high-rise. They gather for the meal and fellowship, and they buy their
groceries.
“As well as bringing wholesome food to the community, the Fishes and Loaves
Buying Club has helped to build community,” said Deacon Bama. And its service to
the community is growing.
In December 2013 Fishes and Loaves began delivering food to a second high-rise
in Hazelwood. “We are already seeing the beginning of sharing food and
fellowship,” said Deacon Bama.
Go to http://www.crsricebowl.org to learn more, or you can visit Fishes and
Loaves at http://www.ststephen-hazelwood.org/flcm-buying-club.
Note to editors. Photo available upon request. Contact susan.walters@crs.org or
tom.price@crs.org