Pittsburgh City Council members said Wednesday they support creating a $3 million food justice fund, but several are concerned about taking money from the city’s Land Bank to do so as Mayor Ed Gainey proposed in his 2023 budget.

The budget, which the mayor introduced to council this month, is being considered by council now.

One of the tweaks the budget has already seen is a proposal from the mayor’s office to take $3 million from the Land Bank’s $10 million allocation to create a food justice fund.

Councilwoman Deb Gross had spearheaded a movement calling for the creation of a food justice fund. She initially proposed putting $10 million into it.

The fund is “essential to reducing hunger in our city,” Colleen Young, director of governmental affairs at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, told council members during a budget-related public hearing Wednesday.

One in five Pittsburghers experience food insecurity, and the number often increases in times of hardship and inflation such as now, Young said.

All council members attending Wednesday’s public hearing voiced support for creating a food justice fund. But several members also expressed concerns about using money from the Land Bank.

“I think we can do both — I think we can do work at the Land Bank, but I also think we can do work to fund the food justice fund, to make sure those needs are met as well,” Councilman Bobby Wilson said. “I’m kind of agonizing over how to support both fully.”

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Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, the finance chair, said he wants to see a better, more sustainable funding source for the food justice fund that doesn’t take away from the Land Bank.

“We as a body said we are not doing enough to address the housing needs in our city, which is why we allocated the money to the Land Bank,” Lavelle said.

Lavelle noted that American Rescue Plan Act funding will dry up at the end of 2026.

“We’re setting a precedent by utilizing dollars that are going to go away,” Lavelle said. “If we did not have ARPA dollars, we absolutely would not be able to seed this fund at this time.”

The debate comes as council members have said they are dedicated to addressing what many have called an affordable housing crisis throughout the city.

“Food and shelter are two basic needs of all people,” Joanna Deming, executive director of Fineview and Perry Hilltop Citizens Council, told council members. “Please make sure there’s a source of funds for the food justice funds that doesn’t take away from affordable housing.”

Lavelle said council members will try to identify other potential, more sustainable ways to fund the food justice initiative without taking cash from the Land Bank.

Wilson also spoke during Wednesday’s public hearing about a budget proposal to change the way Stop the Violence funding can be used.

Currently, at least 80% of the money in that fund must be spent on non-government community organizations. Legislation introduced as part of the mayor’s budget package would amend that requirement so that only 60% of the funding would be required to go to those organizations, leaving up to 40% of that money to be spent internally.

“I think what the goal is, in terms of increasing the amount of funds that can be used to support staff, is that it supports staff that thinks about policing differently, thinks about supporting the public differently,” Wilson said.

In an earlier budget hearing, Kail-Smith said council would reject an element of Gainey’s proposed budget that looked to move the city’s cable bureau, print shop and other various communications staff under the control of the Mayor’s Office. She voiced concerns about how that move could impact council’s ability to communicate with the public.

City Council is expected to take a final vote on the proposed budget on Dec. 19.

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