Giving Tuesday is a global movement of generosity, balancing the acquisitive consumerism of Black Sunday and Cyber Monday with a day meant not to pursue material things, but to champion actions and ideas through the support of organizations working for good.
There is no lack of worthy recipients, with tons of locally-based initiatives making the world a better place through a diverse array of purposes. If you’re in a position to do so, please consider making a donation to a non-profit in alignment with your own beliefs and values. Here’s a few that we are always eager to show some love- this is just a handful of deserving possibilities, so if none of these speak to your heart, find one that does!
Just Harvest has a 30 year history of utilizing public policy and programs to further food equity in Allegheny County, approaching this work through four essential points – individual empowerment, neighborhood development, government advocacy, and public education. They’re here with assistance, knowledge, and opportunity through projects and events ranging from experiences open to the public to those tailored to private groups and individuals. We look forward to every chance to learn from them, whether through panel discussions, art exhibitions, or calls to action, and we can’t wait to see what they bring in 2025.
We are consistently amazed at how much Grow Pittsburgh enhances the community. From the intensive Urban Farmers in Training program, equipping city teens with the skills to not only recognize the processes that take food from farm to table, but the potential to parlay their new understanding into meaningful work, to the farmstands around the city offering the bounty of their multiple growing locations; resources for school, community, and individual gardens; workshops on food preservation or parties for paw-paws- we’re lucky to have them right in our own backyards (which they’ll be glad to help us with!)
The mission of Community Kitchen may be to transform the lives of community members, providing training, apprenticeships, and job placement to individuals who could face significant hurdles in accessing opportunity, but what they sow translates into a benefit the entire community can reap. Food trucks, food service, meals for shelters and non-profits, catering, and their collaborative dinner series with local chefs shine a glowing spotlight on what their staff, students, and alumni create. They’ll be starting 2025 with January Guest Chef Michael Godlewski from EYV (Eat Your Vegetables) with a plant-forward dinner event and we’re hungry about it already.
The PIttsburgh Food Policy Council brings together a multitude of organizations advancing food justice to hone focus on policy, advocating for change within existing systems and creating new programs. With over a decade as a volunteer advisory network, they’ve been a pivotal force throughout their history in actions like implementing free breakfast for Pittsburgh Public School students, passing the Pennsylvania Farm Bill, and updating the City of Pittsburgh’s Urban Agriculture Zoning Code. In 2022 they’ve amplified into an independent entity, with great things to come.
Working out of Harrisburg with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, PA Farm Link is a seemingly limitless source of information for those who do the work that keeps us healthy, happy, well-fed, and alive. While their efforts are concentrated on the business of farming and the approximately 37284534087 things that farmers have to think about every single day, their website has plenty to absorb anyone with an interest in growing food or looking at how others do it.
