2015 Piratefest attendees receive special gift from team for bringing non-perishable food items for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Before you head out this Saturday morning to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to take part in PirateFest, make sure to stop by the grocery store to pick up a bag of non-perishable food and household items to donate to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. As part of the “Bring a Bag, Get a Bag” Promotion, fans who bring in a bag of items and place them under the Christmas tree at the annual “indoor baseball carnival” will receive a specially designed Pirates reusable grocery/freezer bag as well as the warm feeling that comes with helping those in need this winter.
Every year the Pirates choose a different local charity to benefit (along with their own Pirates Charities organization) from the proceeds raised by sales of their very popular autograph session tickets, but this is the first year the team has added a food drive component, Pirates’ officials said.
“It’s something new that the Pirates are doing this year and we’re thankful for their support,” said Beth Snyder, Public Relations Coordinator for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. “The donations from the food drive will provide so much for our agencies to ensure that people have the nutritious food they need this winter.”
Snyder said that the Pirates have long been supporters of the food bank, but typically more during the regular season.
“The Pirates have been a fantastic partner of ours and this is going to be an awesome new opportunity for us,” she said.
When shopping for food to bring to PirateFest, Snyder asks that people keep a few things in mind. “Think about the needs of the end-user” she said, noting that while food is obviously the first thing people think to contribute, those using the Food Bank’s services are also in great need of household staples most people take for granted. Items like laundry detergent, napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper are always in great need.
The Pirates provided a list of suggested items for the “Bring a Bag, Get a Bag” PirateFest donation drive, which includes:
Cereal (low sugar, high fiber preferred)
Canned beans
Hand soap/toiletries
Diapers (infant and adult)
Peanut butter
Tuna or salmon (packed in water)
Canned vegetables (no or low sodium preferred)
Toilet/facial tissue
Fruit (packed in 100% juice or water)
Laundry detergent
They request that no items in glass containers be brought for the promotion.
In addition to the food drive, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, along with the Pirates Charities, will receive proceeds from the six scheduled and ticketed autograph sessions held during PirateFest on Saturday. Each session has 200 $20 tickets available, and as of press time, all but one of those sessions is sold out.
According to Snyder, that translates into a lot of meals the organization will be able to provide to those in need this winter. “For every dollar donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, we can provide five meals to the community. So with the money just raised by the autograph sessions alone, we’ll be able to help a ton of people in our community.”
By providing the monetary support and also direct donations of food items, the Pirates are walking the walk in the city of Pittsburgh, she said. “Opportunities and partnerships like this really make it possible for us to do what we can to be sure people in our area don’t go hungry,” Snyder said. “The holidays tend to be the time when people think about others in need and we’re fortunate that our donors are very generous and really step up to the plate to help.”
PirateFest is in its 26th year in Pittsburgh. Saturday’s session is free and open to the general public from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, please click here.
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