MT. LEBANON, Pa. —
Several small businesses have joined forces to provide meals and support to Mt. Lebanon first responders, their families and others impacted by a recent tragedy in the community.
The effort began with a phone call between two local business owners. Ty Dunkovich, owner of Meet and Cheese, said she was contacted by Bobbi Jo Kegarise, owner of Up and Away Balloon Garlands and the wife of a police officer, who asked if she would like to help.
“I said, give me 30 minutes, I’m going to buy all the food, and we’re going to start cranking out these trays. So in that 30 minutes, we started making sandwiches, veggie trays, charcuterie trays. She herself got in the kitchen with me and started making that stuff, and we sent that out immediately,” Dunkovich said.
The first deliveries of food went to the Mt. Lebanon police and fire departments, the Allegheny County Police Department, Tri-Community South EMA and the Medical Rescue Team South Authority. Over the past two days, platters of sandwiches and trays of food have been delivered to these agencies.
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Kegarise said the goal of the effort is to provide some comfort to first responders during this difficult time.
“We want to make sure that they do understand that we do want to be there for them. Even if it’s something as providing a meal for them to make sure that they’re eating, we do want to make sure that they know that we are here for them in any way we possibly can be,” Kegarise said.
The initiative has grown, with other businesses contributing food and monetary donations to keep the effort going.
“We’re going to try to continue doing this throughout next week, and as the donations come in, we’re obviously going to try to help anybody that was directly impacted by this. It doesn’t have to be just the first responders,” Kegarise said.
Dunkovich also shared her appreciation for the first responders and the challenges they face.
“I can’t imagine what those men and women went through who responded to this tragedy. I can’t imagine what they’re going to go through for the foreseeable future, and what they have to live with. I am just so beyond grateful that we have members like that in our community that can show up, do their job and still go home to their families,” Dunkovich said.
Efforts are also being made to send food to the Lynch family, who were directly impacted by the tragedy. Businesses interested in contributing to the donation effort can contact Kegarise. The initiative is expected to continue through next week.
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