Getting from Point A to Point B can be a daunting task, especially when attempting a race against the clock.
As such, South Hills Interfaith Movement fields some anxiety-ridden calls before its scheduled closing time.
“People would say, ‘I got off work at 5, but it takes a while. I’m stuck in traffic. I’m rushing to get to you by 6,’ ” SHIM basic needs director Molly Penderville said. “All that’s doing is increasing their stress, and that’s not what we’re trying to do.”
She works toward fulfilling the nonprofit’s mission of helping area residents who can use a boost, and a primary component is making sure everyone has enough to eat.
“Over the past several years, people would call and we would do various things to try to meet their needs,” she said. “We would stay late. We would leave a box in the doorway for them. But we really never had a good, safe and dignified option for them.”
A solution arrived in November, when SHIM installed 16 food lockers outside its Bethel Park Center at 2601 South Park Road. The units are climate-controlled, allowing perishable items to be stored until someone is able to retrieve them.
“We have opportunity for expansion,” said Jim Guffey, SHIM’s executive director. “So as we see how this goes in the years ahead, we could add more if that’s our desire.”
Access to the service is through an online platform called Order Ahead developed by the Feeding America Network, a partnership of organizations that seek to end hunger in the United States. Users can create accounts and choose from selections of available products.
“Ultimately, what happens is people get a text message and/or an email” with a personal identification number to enter, according to Penderville. “We can help them get to that point.”
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank added food lockers during a 2023 expansion and renovation project, and the Duquesne-based organization provided guidance for SHIM, with which it has a long-standing relationship.
“We want more people to know that this is an option they might not have ever considered,” Penderville said.
SHIM has three food pantries — besides Bethel Park, the others are at its South Hills Family Center in West Mifflin and Baldwin United Presbyterian Church in Baldwin Borough — plus numerous other services, including financial and utility assistance, youth and family support programs, and education and training toward attaining self-sufficiency.
An ever-growing number of residents seek what SHIM has to offer, according to Guffey.
“Thankfully, we are here to serve,” he said. “But those numbers are not going down, nor in all honesty are we forecasting in the short term that those numbers will trend downward.”
Recognizing that transportation can be a major concern, he eventually would like to bring access to food closer to people who need it.
“In theory, we could put lockers anywhere that has a power source and a connectivity aspect,” he explained, depending on logistical considerations as well. “It does give us the opportunity to talk about possibilities.”
For now, Bethel Park serves as the proving ground.
“I would like to see these get overly used, that we at least add more units here. But then part of me says, boy, I hope they don’t get used at all.”
If you’re interested in utilizing SHIM’s food lockers, contact Penderville at mpenderville@shimcares.org or 412-854-9120, ext. 108. For details, visit shimcares.org.