Many western Pennsylvanians forced to throw out food after days without power

PITTSBURGH — Many people across western Pennsylvania have been forced to throw out hundreds of dollars worth of food after days without power.

“I heard the tree crack right there and then I looked over and it started to come down,” said Kevin Denardo.

DeNardo lives in Penn Hills an area hit hard by storms. He told Channel 11 News several trees came crashing down onto his property Monday night, leaving him and his neighbors without power.

“A lot of them have generators, which I am thinking seriously about getting,” DeNardo said.

Without a generator, DeNardo and many others were forced to wait for the utility company.

Homeowners can file a claim for spoiled food through their insurance. Duquesne Light confirmed they will not offer any rebates or reimbursements. Many had to throw out food and on Thursday began the costly task of rebuying items.

“We had a power on Monday night it threw out our elevator and throughout our A/C so we are just trying to keep the place cool,” said Megan Bettenhausen.

The Penn Hills library houses a food pantry and the community fridge, but they too lost power.

“Luckily all of our refrigerators were still on overnight, but a lot of people came in on Tuesday saying their power was out,” she said.

On Thursday, with power restored volunteers worked tirelessly to restock items ahead of their Friday morning pick-up which begins at 11 a.m.

The pantry anticipates that their numbers will double from 80 families to more than 150 during their weekly pick-up day.

“Come on into the library Friday at 11 and we will have food for you,” Bettenhausen said.

Several food pantry locations in the area will run today through the weekend:

• Penn Hills Library, Friday at 11 a.m. and Wednesday at 5 p.m.
• Lincoln Park Community Center Food Pantry, Saturday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Jamar Place of Peace Thursday 5 p.m.

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