The Pirates have prioritized serving to to fight meals insecurity within the Pittsburgh space for a few years. Nevertheless, the group elevated its efforts in 2025, conscious of a rise within the variety of folks susceptible to going hungry.
“The Pirates and Pirates Charities, led by Chairman Bob Nutting, have labored alongside our neighbors to handle essential regional points, together with the battle towards continual starvation,” Pirates president Travis Williams stated.
“Through the years, we’ve donated sources, held gameday promotions, shared native programming, and undertaken joint aid efforts in instances of regional tragedy ranging the COVID-19 pandemic to restoration efforts within the wake of storms and pure disasters.”
Lately, Pirates Charities and 84 Lumber hosted a drive-through meals distribution occasion for the Veterans Management Program at PNC Park in June, which supplied a whole bunch of native food-insecure veterans with a tote bag filled with pantry objects and recent produce. Pirates Charities additionally donated $20,000 to the Better Pittsburgh Neighborhood Meals Financial institution to assist emergency response efforts within the aftermath of extreme thunderstorms that swept by the Pittsburgh area.
As well as, in partnership with Sheetz, the Pirates packed 1,000 meals containers for Pittsburgh Public Faculty college students to assist bridge the hole between the tip of the college yr and the beginning of summer season feeding applications. Meals objects had been distributed to the scholars on the final day of college.
Efforts to handle meals insecurity had been additionally a part of this yr’s Roberto Clemente Day of Service in September. All through the day, Pirates gamers, coaches and entrance workplace workers cooked meals for the Girls’s Shelter of Pittsburgh, restocked the Latino Neighborhood Heart’s meals panty and packed 200 backpacks with snacks for the kids there, supported one other meals distribution occasion with the Veterans Management Program and supplied meals for households staying on the Ronald McDonald Home.
An initiative that has obtained a whole lot of publicity has been the Thanksgiving dinner drive-through distribution occasion the Pirates have at PNC Park in partnership with the Better Pittsburgh Neighborhood Meals Financial institution, Big Eagle and the Penguins and Steelers. For the fifth straight yr, greater than 300 space households in want might be supplied with Thanksgiving dinner — together with turkey, produce, sides and dessert — in addition to a Big Eagle reward card.
This yr, efforts associated to the vacation can even embody serving to the Gentle of Life Rescue Mission present provides to pack 2,800 Thanksgiving dinner containers that may feed greater than 22,000 folks. The Pirates have additionally supplied monetary assist to Gentle of Life’s year-round feeding applications.
In early September, a Starvation Motion Month press convention was held at PNC Park because the Pirates joined the bipartisan legislative Starvation Caucus and leaders of meals insecurity organizations from throughout Pennsylvania to focus on previous and current efforts to handle starvation.
It was following the Pirates’ $10,000 sponsorship of the 2025 Capitol All-Stars softball sport — an annual occasion that raises cash to battle meals insecurity — that State Consultant Emily Kinkead approached the group about internet hosting the press occasion. She was additionally conscious of the Pirates’ efforts associated to meals insecurity on different fronts.
“In my time as the home chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Starvation Caucus, I’ve solely seen meals insecurity worsen throughout our Commonwealth and our nation,” Kinkead, the state consultant for the twentieth legislative district, stated. “So having organizations with the facility and footprint of the Pittsburgh Pirates step up and step into the hole has by no means been extra vital.
“I’m grateful for his or her work to deliver consideration to this very solvable downside, and their efforts to really remedy it. That is what we want from our group companions as a result of we’re going to see extra folks in Pennsylvania hungry. It may worsen if we don’t act.”
“As the necessity continues to develop, the Pirates are proud to face with our group companions, native and state leaders, and the numerous neighbors who’re devoted to constructing a robust area and a brighter, hunger-free future,” added Patrick Joyal, director of public affairs for the Pirates.
