When Blawnox Manager Kathy Ulanowicz saw residents were struggling to make ends meet years ago, she knew something had to be done.

Some people were making the tough choice of buying food or paying bills.

That discovery led to borough Thanksgiving food drives, a tradition that lasted for about a decade.

“We would do boxes of food that people would need for their meal and then whatever other donations we had,” Ulanowicz said Oct. 21.

As needs continued to rise, so did the support — with more people wanting to get involved and find ways to help residents.

That effort resulted in the creation of Blawnox’s food pantry, a repurposed second-floor caucus room in the borough building at 376 Freeport Road.

Ulanowicz and Assistant Manager Mallori McDowell worked for months renovating the space and gathering supplies when not handling borough business.

“I just felt like the holidays weren’t the only time people needed to eat,” Ulanowicz said. “I really wanted to do something to help people ’cause all year long some of the same people weren’t able to meet their household needs.”

The pantry first opened to the public Oct. 27, 2023.

Patrons did not need to provide proof of residency or income. That policy continues.

“We had 14 people we served that very first day,” Ulanowicz said. “Over the past several months, we’ve had an average of 30 people. We’re hoping it’s because word is getting out (about the pantry).”

This month marks its one-year anniversary. The manager said they plan to celebrate by being open and serving residents like they always do.

“It was just a dream, I guess, and here we are dream fulfilled,” she said.

The food pantry usually is open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the last Friday of the month.

Organizers have exceptions for the holidays. Coming up, the pantry will be open on two Mondays — Nov. 18 and Dec. 16.

“It gives people enough time to know what they’ll be able to have and however else they’ll need to prepare,” Ulanowicz said.

Volunteer operation

Folks who come to the borough office on pantry day are usually greeted by Hiller Hardie, a retired certified public accountant from Fox Chapel. He is among the 10 core volunteers who make the pantry work.

People take the stairs or the elevator to the second floor and wait in council chambers for their number to be called.

The pantry space is so small that families go in one at a time to shop.

“As the doorman, I kind of help with traffic flow,” Hardie said.

He also helps to retrieve items from top shelves and carry food to people’s vehicles if needed.

“This is a necessary thing,” Hardie said. “It’s a shame, but at the same time it’s nice to know that we’re helping those who truly need it.”

Volunteer Sue Stoddard, a resident and retired business consultant, helps with inventory and donation acquisition.

“I have a list of the items that we normally have, and that may change by season,” Stoddard said. “We’ll have chili during the cooler months. We have this room and we have a room across the hall where we keep overflow items that don’t fit on the shelves here. At least we have a little bit more to stock with if we need it. I’m here every month so I kind of have an idea of what we go through.

“I was so excited whenever they started this because I have always felt that no one should ever go hungry in this country. I retired and had time to help out so this is my retirement gig.”

She said the most needed items include sugar, cooking oils, pastas, sauces, cereal, laundry detergent, dish soap and paper products.

Stoddard said the pantry has more volunteers, visibility and organizations donating since its opening month.

“The challenge is still reaching people that we would like to reach,” she said. “Most of our clients are senior citizens. That was a surprise.”

Nonperishable food items, paper products and personal hygiene items are accepted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the borough office. Gift cards to local supermarkets also are welcome.

Those who want to make a monetary donation can send a check with Blawnox Food Pantry written on the memo line.

The pantry also gets support from nearby communities. It recently received a donation through Fox Chapel’s Touch-a-Truck and the Fox Chapel Police Department’s pumpkin painting events.

Independent pantry

The Blawnox pantry is not affiliated with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, a large nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger throughout Western Pennsylvania and beyond.

Ulanowicz said one of the reasons they have not partnered with the food bank is over concerns about residents not being able to go to other food bank partners if needed.

“It gives them options,” Ulanowicz said about remaining an independent pantry. “You can come here and can go somewhere else also. We certainly do not want to limit people to only be able to come here per month. We want to make sure they would be able to get whatever else they may need.”

However, Erin Kelly, director of partner network and distribution programs, said the food bank has no such policy of limiting pantry patrons.

“We do require all of our agencies to use a service record management system, but we’re very specific in ensuring that each agency only has access to their own records,” Kelly said. “If they were a part of our network, they wouldn’t be able to even see who is being served at (other partner) food pantries.

“I think our neighbors who use our services will sometimes have questions about whether we do have any such policy like that, but we don’t. Our direct distribution programs are designed to serve people whether they go to a food pantry already or not. Our goal is to meet the needs, and we understand that different households have varying levels of need. We really don’t police people going to more than one location.”

The food bank served 500,238 households through its member pantries, market and distributions from August 2023 through August of this year, according to vice president of marketing and communications Brian Gulish.

That equates to more than 45.5 million pounds of food in that time frame, including 3.9 million this past August alone.

Gulish said one in eight individuals in the food bank’s 11-county service area are food insecure, including one in six children.

Food pantries that want to become partners must submit an application, what Kelly called a “partnership inquiry form.”

Pantry operators would submit information to the food bank for review.

Those selected would go through a six-month incubation period and get hands-on coaching and training. The membership fee is $50 a year.

For details about the food bank, visit pittsburghfoodbank.org. Information about how to become a partner is under the website’s “Get Involved” tab.

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