Tina Streit, left, and Tish Norton, both volunteers for Veterans Leadership Program, organize boxes of food during a food distribution at the organization’s Strip District offices on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. The organization partnered with Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in 2020 to provide food to veterans and military families in need. “There’s still a drastic need with local veterans facing food insecurity,” said Toshua Jarrett, Veterans Leadership Program’s chief development officer. Many veterans prioritize rent payments and vehicle and transportation costs while continuing to search for jobs to replace those lost during the pandemic. “So food is the last thing on the list for a lot of veterans,” Jarrett said. Still, some face multiple struggles. Last month, she said, Veterans Leadership Program helped one veteran by paying $26,000 owed in rent, which was three years in arrears. “He was too humble to ask for that much,” she said. “He’d lost his job, and his wife was suffering from breast cancer.” The organization distributes food once a month in the Strip District, and once a month in Johnstown. (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)