A Pittsburgh-area building materials supplier and its sister company have donated $500,000 to a local food bank faced with a serious shortage of donations, even as it has experienced a significant spike in demand for food as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank received an initial $100,000 donation from 84 Lumber, based in the city of 84 Lumber, Pa., and its sister company, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Both companies are owned by Maggie Hardy Knox.
“These are difficult times that we are facing as a nation and as a city,” said Hardy Knox. “At 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, we believe that one of those challenges shouldn’t be having enough food on the table. By giving this donation, we want to help lessen this burden for our neighbors.”
BUILDING SUPPLIES OWNER ISSUES $500,000 CHALLENGE
The initial donation was made in coordination with a local television station’s WTAE-TV’s “Project CommUnity Day of Giving,” a Pittsburgh-wide effort that encourages community members to donate to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Each $1 donation provides about five meals.
Immediately following the first donation, Hardy Knox issued a matching grant challenge: If the Pittsburgh community would donate $500,000 by the end of the day (Wednesday, April 15), she would kick in another $400,000, thereby making her companies' total donation to the Pittsburgh-area food bank $500,000.
As of the evening of April 15, the matching grant program had raised $1,221,172.
