PITTSBURGH, PA, March 19, 2020 – According to Pittsburgh Public Schools, thousands of children in the greater Pittsburgh area are now without school lunches; and the Chaffin Luhana Foundation (“CLF”) wants to help. CLF plans to hand out 10,000 sandwiches next week.
Beginning at 9:00 AM, Monday, March 23, those in need will be able to use a custom-created drive-through service at Oakmont Bakery (1 Sweet St., Oakmont) to pick up sandwiches. All volunteers will use sterile gloves to ensure as germ-free a process as possible. Turkey, roast beef, and cheese sandwiches will be offered until they run out.
“Our law firm’s original goal was to talk with 10,000 Pittsburgh area school students about the dangers of distracted driving in April,” explains Eric Chaffin, managing partner of Chaffin Luhana and CLF Trustee. “The talks were scheduled and we had exciting things planned, but then COVID-19 hit and schools closed. We quickly saw kids at home going hungry. So, we went from talking, to taking action to feed them. And since our law firm is national—with offices in New York City and Pittsburgh—we are able to tap into some great resources,” said Chaffin. “I reached out to my friend Peter Priviti at Nations Best Deli Meats in the Bronx, NY, to buy 2,500 pounds of beloved NY Deli meat at cost—and we turned to my dear friend, Marty Griffin, of Sparkt and KDKA News Radio—who knows how to scale projects—to get the sandwiches made and delivered to those in need. Marty brought in the amazing Oakmont Bakery, who we are buying the bread from, and they are making the sandwiches. And 412 Food Rescue committed to help us deliver to the kids. This is truly a win-win that will support businesses and charities, but most importantly, together we are helping the kids and families of the greater Pittsburgh area who are struggling right now.”
Business and Non-Profit Partners on the 10,000 Sandwiches Food Drive:
- Nations Best Deli Meats (Bronx, NY)—Delivered 2,500 pounds of deli meat (turkey and roast beef) from New York City to Pittsburgh that arrived on Thursday, March 19, 2020.
- Oakmont Bakery—Mark Serrao and his team have acquired 400 pounds of cheese (a donation from Lamagna Cheese) and lettuce (a donation from Sam’s Club, Tarentum) for the sandwiches, supplying the bread (baked by Cellone’s Italian Bread) the CL Foundation is purchasing, slicing all of the deli meat and cheese, and building and distributing the sandwiches at its location in Oakmont. Giant Eagle, Oakmont Deli and Bird Dog’s Sports Bar will be slicing the deli meat. Additionally, Turner’s Dairy is donating milk cartons and Utz is donating bags of chips as well.
- KDKA 1020 AM—Station will promote the 10,000 Sandwiches food drive on air and be live from the location on Monday, March 23.
- Sparkt—Community-based website will be live-streaming the event on its website.
- 412 Food Rescue—With a refrigerated truck from Tambellini Event Catering, organization will pick up and deliver 2,500 sandwiches to kids on Monday.
“This idea started when schools were closing, we saw kids who would go hungry and what was happening in the restaurant industry—there was an opportunity to get kids fed and at the same time support these businesses and their employees,” explains Chaffin. “We are so thankful to those who have stepped up and are doing something good for the kids and families in Pittsburgh with us. Their dedication to helping these children has been pivotal to helping our firm and foundation achieve its goal of positively impacting kids,” adds firm partner Roopal Luhana.
For more information on the Chaffin Luhana Foundation’s #10KSandwiches Food Drive, visit chaffinluhanafoundation.org/10k-sandwiches.