HEALTH
Carl Lewis, owner of Carl’s Cafe in Rankin, touchs a leafy grape plant growing on the side of his store.

Fresh produce and bagged meals: Four Pittsburghers share how the pandemic has impacted their approach to food security

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Before the pandemic, more than one in five Pittsburgh residents were food insecure. That means social and economic conditions limit their consistent access to food. After the pandemic hit, residents lost jobs and distribution methods like school lunches were disrupted. While residents from all communities seek aid from food banks and pantries, food insecurity disproportionately impacts low-income communities of color.

EDUCATION

How is your school handling lessons on racism? Share your view.

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Calling on parents, students, teachers, school administrators and the Allegheny County community at large: Tensions have flared over anti-racism education in public schools — sometimes referred to as Critical Race Theory — and attempts to teach (or prevent the teaching of) lessons related to historic and institutional racism. Why do you feel these lessons are important? Or why shouldn’t they be taught? Should there be legislation imposing rules for the classroom?

PWSA: After the Crisis

As water bills rise, PWSA ramps up efforts to help low-income customers

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The average customer in the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority [PWSA] service area spent about 2.7% of their income on water and sewage. The Environmental Protection Agency considers water and sewage bills above 4.5% to be unaffordable. But in a third of the city’s neighborhoods, at least one in every five customers was spending 10% or more of their income on water and sewage, according to PWSA’s own affordability study in 2019.