Money made available through a Pennsylvania tax-credit program will help the Westmoreland County Food Bank install a needed sprinkler system at its warehouse and offices in Salem.

The food bank this week was awarded $15,200 through the Neighborhood Assistance Program. The program is providing a tax credit to PNC Bank, which in turn is donating the money to the food bank.

That money “will go a long way toward helping us complete the project,” said Jennifer Miller, chief executive officer of the food bank.

The food bank will draw upon a private bequest for additional funding toward the estimated cost of more than $198,000 and expects to have the sprinklers installed by next November, Miller said. The project also will provide the unheated dock with an antifreeze loop.

The sprinklers will offer added safety for as many as 85 staff and volunteers who work in the 43,000-square-foot complex while also helping offset a $20,000 annual increase in the insurance premium for the facility.

The premium hike occurred about a year ago, when the building’s insurer cited the lack of a sprinkler system as a major issue.

“We were grandfathered in, but now it’s required,” Miller said of the sprinklers. “This will assist in bringing that cost down. In turn, that money will go back out to feed more people.”

The food bank, through its network of 44 pantries, serves between 7,000 and 8,000 households, according to the latest available monthly total, which doesn’t include the Thanksgiving holiday.

Miller said demand for both monthly and emergency food assistance went up this year during the covid-19 pandemic and the economic hardship it caused for many residents. Reaching a monthly high of about 9,500 households served, “it has settled down since spring,” she said.

Still, she said, need for food is likely to increase again with the arrival of the holiday season and a surge of covid-19 cases in the county.

The food bank money is part of $36 million in Neighborhood Assistance Program money awarded to support 214 community projects across the state. That investment will result in more than $20.3 million in additional funds leveraged through corporate contributions, according to state officials.

“This has been a challenging year for all of us, and the projects we are supporting today will help us grow stronger and more resilient in 2021 and beyond,” Gov. Tom Wolf in a statement.

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