Long line of people in cars at Kennywood wait to get food donations

Kennywood Park was closed, but a long line of cars snaked their way into its parking lot Monday.

Normally, when this many people show up at the West Mifflin amusement park, they are anticipating a day of fun. Instead, on a dreary Monday morning, they were here for food.

For more than two hours, volunteers from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank braved a steady, cold rain and carried boxes of food to the cars and dropped them into trunks and back seats. A second two-hour session was scheduled for later in the day.

Many of the recipients lost their jobs in the past week because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Romaine Gallimore of McKeesport was laid off last Friday from her job as a bus driver for Pa Coach Lines. She said she has a family of four and needs to provide for them.

“This is a lot of help. It really lightens my load,” Gallimore said. “There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help (losing her job). It is what it is. The Lord will help us.”

Each car in the line received two boxes. One box contained products such as pasta, jars of sauce and canned foods such as soup. The other box contained an assortment of frozen meat.

Charlese McKinney, network development director for the food bank, said she knew food would be in demand but did not anticipate the number of people who showed up.

“We have people coming to us for the first time. We have people whose lives have been changed pretty drastically in a quick amount of time,” McKinney said. “They don’t know where to turn. There are shortages at the grocery store and people are worried about feeding their families. So, we’re doing the best we can to meet that need as it arises.”

Waiting in the line was Dylan Dougherty, 22, of Brentwood, who was working as a dental assistant until he lost his job Friday.

“I need to make sure I’m OK. My dad called me last night and said they had food for people who don’t have a job. So, that’s where we’re at,” Dougherty said.

One of the rain-soaked volunteers was Abby Genter, 23, of Allison Park, a graduate student at Slippery Rock University. She said hurrying back and forth loading boxes of food into cars was better than sitting at home during the coronavirus scare.

“This is a good way to get out and feel like you’re doing something and that you are helping and making a difference,” Genter said. “It’s kind of a scary time for sure.”

Another volunteer, Larry Hughes, 57, of Pittsburgh, is an architect who is working from home because of the coronavirus situation. Hughes said he is seeing a great need in the community.

“The line of cars here is incredible. I don’t know if this is normal or not. So, however I can help. I can go back and do my (architecture) job tonight at home.”

McKinney said the demand for food would exceed the nearly 800 boxes they had available for the morning but that they would have at least 600 more boxes of food to give away in the afternoon.

She said they were considering handing out more food next Monday but would have to confer with Duquesne and West Mifflin police, Allegheny County and Kennywood Park officials who helped organize Monday’s event.

For now, McKinney said she feels encouraged by the outpouring of support.

“Pittsburghers are tough,” she said. “We come together when we need to, and this distribution here is a shining example of that.”