Pittsburgh meals: Steelers and Giant Eagle fill gap during school closures

Pittsburgh students will receive free lunches at city recreation centers during days when public schools close or dismiss students early. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Giant Eagle are funding the program to ensure children do not go without a meal during unexpected school days off.

City officials launched extended recreation center hours in September to provide free childcare for families. The new meal initiative addresses the nutritional gap that remains when schools are not in session. Blayre Holmes Davis, the Steelers’ senior director of community relations, stated, "We don’t want a school closure to mean a child goes without a meal." Davis noted that for some students, school meals are an important source of daily nutrition.

Dan Donovan, senior director of public relations and sports partnerships at Giant Eagle, said the grocery chain regularly teams up with the Steelers to address community needs. "We are proud to be part of this partnership that will ensure Pittsburgh Public School students have access to meals when they need them most," Donovan said.

Mayor Corey O’Connor described recreation centers as an important community resource for families, providing free childcare when kids are off from school. The city plans to open four recreation centers that are not used as polling places when the district closes Tuesday for Election Day. The locations are Ammon, Ormsby, Jefferson, and Magee.

The program relies on the existing infrastructure of city rec centers to distribute food. The Steelers and Giant Eagle cover the cost of the lunches. This arrangement follows the city's earlier decision to extend childcare services during school closures.