For the region and the nation itself, COVID-19 has impacted 2020 in almost every way.
Pennsylvania recorded its first case in March, and area residents have spent the nine months since preparing for and reacting to the virus â and now more than ever, living or dying with it.
In between, Cambria and Somerset County residents and businesses have, in most cases, had to adapt to ever-changing health and safety guidelines as cases have spiked, slowed and then spiked again in Pennsylvania.
In what has become a nationwide trend, it has kept many in the a high percentage of the regionâs workforce at home â either working remotely or unemployed, the latter, at 7.4% through October.
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FILE | NEWS
FILE | NEWS
FILE | NEWS
The magic of Christmas giving really started in March.
When businesses became crippled by COVID-19 and people lost jobs or were laid off, the numbers of others who stepped forward to help provide tons of free food to the needy exploded. That giving has not stopped, and efforts continue to ensure that no one in Lawrence County goes hungry.
Free prepared dinners and boxes and bags of free groceries have abounded, made possible by state agencies, churches, community organizations, generous individual donors, schools and businesses who have reached out to help the lesser fortunate.
Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review
A young Donald Trump supporter sports the president’s iconic hair during a rally and campaign stop on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Johnstown.
Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
Frank Catanzano of Murrysville poses during a MAGA Meet Up event in near the new Murrysville Trump Victory Office on Saturday, Aug. 22.
Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review
Robert Wideman, 69, of Homewood takes a selfie with the Biden-Harris stage in the background at the Pittsburgh African American GOTV event at Lexington Technology Park on Monday, Nov 2. Wideman said he does not recall a presidential candidate ever visiting his hometown of Homewood.
Nate Smallwood | Tribune-Review
Officials at the Greater Washington County Food Bank are defending their decision to cut the number of local food pantries in operation, but said the loss of $280,000 from the county commissioners will be another hurdle to overcome during the pandemic.
âDuring a year where Greater Washington County Food Bank has reached unprecedented levels of food distribution around the communities of Washington County, the food bank now has another set of obstacles to overcome,â according to a statement from the food bank. âIn its 35-year history, Greater Washington County Food Bank has faced its fair share of times where food insecurity has risen, but nothing quite like COVID-19.â
Tribune-Review
Courtesy of Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Food Bank Operations Director Gail Robbins at a pantry in McKeesport in 1985.
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In June 1980, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank opened its doors in the Hill District. The once-thriving steel industry, which had been in a slow, steady decline for nearly 30 years, began to rapidly deteriorate during the early 1980s. In January 1983, the region’s unemployment rate hit 18.2 percent, leaving 212,000 people unemployed and in need of emergency food assistance.
This week on the Food Podcast presented by Clearview Federal Credit Union, host Brian Gulish looks back on the history of the food bank, including an in-depth interview with operations director Gail Robbins. Robbins has been an employee of the food bank for 38½ years.