A Leechburg church has partnered with a Lower Burrell- area nonprofit to ensure food supply is not a problem in future free distributions.

Twice last month, volunteers from Kiski Valley Community Church had to turn away families who waited for hours at the Leechburg Fire Hall for boxes of food.

The church’s food distributions are in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program.

The Rev. Todd Pugh said a food truck did not arrive Feb. 20 because of bad weather, and a Feb. 27 distribution was canceled because a different truck driver had worked his allotted hours and was forced to rest in the Philadelphia area the morning of the event.

The Kiski Valley pastor said both times he was unaware of the problems.

“It was really frustrating; mostly, it was disappointing,” Pugh said Saturday. “It kind of breaks your heart to see so much need, people getting in line two hours before distribution time and having to turn people away. It was really sad. The biggest problem was nobody told us.”

The Feb. 20 delivery couldn’t be made because of the weather, Dustin Widdoss, client solutions manager for Elite Transit Solutions, told the Tribune-Review.

The Feb. 27 distribution was handled by a different company.

Pugh recently reached out to the Compassion Network, a charity made up of local churches in the Lower Burrell/New Kensington area, to help prevent future distribution problems.

“We are strong people of faith,” said Mark Resetar, Compassion Network director. “That’s how all of this works. God provides, and we provide for other people.”

The network usually focuses on comprehensive intervention with families in need of housing, rental assistance and related things such as furniture and appliances.

Resetar said they have worked with the USDA program since May in response to increased need of assistance caused by the covid pandemic.

He said they have given out about 300,000 pounds of food since then.

The network hosts distributions from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays in the Burrell Community Church parking lot in the Hillcrest Shopping Center.

“We’ve learned dealing with the USDA and dealing with this program that it can be hit and miss,” Resetar said. “There are no guarantees. We try to rely on more than one source if the USDA doesn’t come through. Only one week in the last few months have we not given out food.”

Other sources include 412 Food Rescue, a Pittsburgh nonprofit dedicated to ensuring hungry families are fed and food doesn’t go to waste.

Pugh said church volunteers were able to pick up 200 food boxes from the network and distribute them to folks in Leechburg on Saturday.

“We’ve had some problems, but today has gone really well,” Pugh said. “We’ve changed everything around. Everybody was really thankful, thanking our workers and thanking us for doing it. People were in good spirits today.”

The plan is to have food distributions in the same manner March 20 and 27.

The Lower Burrell lot will open at 11 a.m., and Leechburg’s event will start at noon and go until all food boxes are gone.

No food distribution is planned for March 13.

People who need food in Leechburg can sign up with the church through Kiskivalley.cc and will receive an email the day of the event. Volunteers are also welcome.

Those who want to participate in Compassion Network’s distribution can call or text 724-448-8173.

Calls to USDA public affairs office Saturday were not immediately returned.

More information about the USDA program is available at ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box.

This story was updated March 7, 2021, to indicate Elite Transit Solutions wasn’t involved in the Feb. 27 food distribution.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)