Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership pays troubled eating places to cater to unsafe meals communities – CBS Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Recent mitigation efforts are slated to end on Monday, but restaurant owners aren’t optimistic that they’ll kick off the reopening of the interior.

Heading into the industry’s slowest month, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has launched a new program to help both restaurants and those in need.

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“The hardest part about being downtown is that it’s not actually a neighborhood. A lot of people stay at home, work from home, and go to places in their neighborhood, and not many people roam downtown.” said Amy Kluczkowski, managing partner at Harris Grill.

Harris Grill is one of a dozen restaurants that are part of the Community Takeout program.

“Our organization collects dollars. We will pay weekly to have restaurants prepare meals, ”said Jeremy Waldrup, President / CEO of Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

It’s a collaboration with 412 Food Rescue. Once meals are prepared in each restaurant, the volunteers deliver them to neighbors in need.

“Food insecurity is expected to increase by 61 percent over the next few months as people continue to face additional difficulties and challenges,” said Waldrup.

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Only a dozen or so restaurants came into the program with limited spending. Harris Grill makes about 200 meals every Thursday.

“It helps us work through products, it helps us keep employees, and it gives us something to hope for,” said Kluczkowski.

But there are more restaurants that want to join. This is where public help is needed.

“It is imperative for us to try to get these dollars for these restaurants out there so that these meals do the right thing in our community,” said Waldrup.

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership received some startup donations to get the program going, but now they rely on those community donations.

If you are interested in donating, visit the website here.

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The groups hope to continue the program through May 2021.