News Release: Empty Bowls 2020 Postponed

Event to be rescheduled at a date TBD

PITTSBURGH, PA (March 12, 2020) – With the health and safety of our neighbors in mind, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest have chosen to postpone the Empty Bowls Dinner at Rodef Shalom, originally scheduled for this Sunday, March 15. This decision was made due to the growing concerns surrounding the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

“In light of the ongoing public health concern, after consulting with Rodef Shalom, we’ve decided to take preventative measures to allow our attendees to avoid mass gatherings and observe social distancing,” said Food Bank CEO Lisa Scales and Just Harvest Executive Director Ken Regal.

Sunday was to be the 25th anniversary of the event, which provides a simple meal of bread and soup to remind people of the 1 in 8 residents in Allegheny County who are battling hunger.

“While there are still no presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in Allegheny County and there has yet to be community spread identified in Pennsylvania, there is increasing evidence in the U.S., the state and surrounding states indicating that local presumptive positive cases are likely to be detected in the near future,” said a representative from the Allegheny County Health Department in a statement on Wednesday.

Both organizations will monitor the status of COVID-19 in southwestern Pennsylvania and decide on a date to reschedule Empty Bowls once the virus does not pose a threat to our community. Tickets already purchased for Empty Bowls will be honored at the rescheduled event.

Both the Food Bank and Just Harvest will continue their mission critical operations as normal at this time. More details about any necessary changes to both organizations’ general operations will be shared as they become available. Just Harvest’s March 21 D-Jam event is for now continuing as planned.

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