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Plus, Harvie Farms tells us why it's important to shop local.
The Incline

🐕 Pittsburgh potholes, pit bulls, and pizza

Plus, Harvie Farms tells us why it's important to shop local.

Welcome to Wednesday, Pittsburgh!

Today, we're bringing you another "Jeet Yet?" feature with Pittsburgh-based start-up Harvie, who is changing the way we think about our local food systems. When talking with the marketing director about why more people should care about sourcing their groceries locally, she had this to say:

"Food is an integral part of how we sustain our bodies, and connect with each other, our culture, and our communities. You really make a statement about your values and your priorities in the choices you make about your food and where it comes from. There is a rich opportunity to use that daily decision about where you get your groceries to connect more deeply with your neighbors and the land where you live. It’s a choice that has power to create change and make the world and your community a more resilient place. And let’s be honest, food tastes better when we know the story behind it and can feel that sense of connection and share it with the people we love. Harvie is all about food from people you know." - Nicole Whalen at Harvie.

I hope that quote gives you a little "food for thought" this morning. Read on for more.

In today’s news: The Mon Valley will now get air quality alerts, the city is working to repair potholes and repave roads, an important piece of the city’s Black history will be restored, where to get plant-based pizza, and a Pittsburgh nonprofit celebrates 10 years of saving pit bulls.

What Pittsburgh is talking about

412 forever! | Tag #theinclinepgh to be featured in our Instagram of the Day. (📸: @citylifeadventures)

4 things to know today

💉 Medical providers in Western Pennsylvania are changing plans after the CDC and FDA recommended a pause on administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., with the vast majority experiencing mild or no side effects, but a rare type of blood clotting developed in six women between the ages of 18 and 48. (90.5 WESA)

⚠️ The Allegheny County Health Department is now sending public air quality alerts for the Monongahela River Valley using the Allegheny Alerts app. This comes after the Mon Valley was on air pollution watch last week, ranking among the 10 worst air sheds in the U.S. nine times since the beginning of spring, according to the Breathe Project. (90.5 WESA / Pittsburgh City Paper)

🕳️ Spot a pothole? Call 311. The city is doing a “pothole blitz” this week, and public works employees are working 12-hour shifts today through Friday. (TribLIVE)

🚘 Speaking of roads, starting next week, roughly 34 miles of city streets will be repaved this year with $16 million improvements by Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. Check out the list in the link to see if any streets in your neighborhood are on the road to recovery. (TribLIVE)

4 things to make you smile

☎️ Seven local artists are a part of a world-wide game of Telephone. How’s that? Around the start of the pandemic, a Seattle artist started a slightly different take on the childhood game, and it brought together more than 900 people across almost 500 cities all over the world. In this game of Telephone, the message was passed from art form to art form, changing from a musical piece to a painting, a poem to a sculpture, etc. You can follow along at phonebook.gallery. (Pittsburgh City Paper)

🎶 The National Negro Opera Company House in Homewood, which sat vacant for more than 50 years, will be restored to its former glory thanks to a $500,000 grant allocated to save the landmark. This 7,000-square-foot estate was the first permanent African-American opera company in the country. (Pittsburgh City Paper)

🎂 Happy Birthday Biggie’s Bullies! This volunteer-run pit bull rescue organization is celebrating its 10th birthday this Saturday with a sidewalk sale at its new headquarters in the South Side Slopes. (And yes, there will be adoptable pups there!)  Since 2011, they have rescued and rehomed more than 120 dogs. (Pittsburgh Magazine)

🍕Do you love cheese but it doesn’t love you back? Reporter Dani Janae has you covered with all of the best places you can find vegan pizza in the ‘Burgh. (Pittsburgh City Paper)

Jeet Yet?

Over the past year, our routines have changed so much, and it’s a wonder what habits will stick with us when things go back to “normal” — including how we shop for our groceries.

Harvie, a Pittsburgh-based start up that provides home-delivered grocery boxes directly sourced from more than 75 Pennsylvania-based farmers and artisans, is on a mission to be a part of that answer.

Back in January, Harvie conducted a survey that revealed changes in people’s buying habits during the pandemic.

“The pandemic has shown us all the value of community, caring for our neighbors, and staying healthy,” said Nicole Whalen, Harvie’s marketing director. “This has accelerated shifts in the ways families are sourcing their food. And now it's up to farmers, producers, and small businesses to harness this momentum to give consumers what they want and create lasting change in our food system.”

Among the nearly 2,500 people who took the survey, 76.3% reported an increased desire to support local farmers and suppliers, and they also noted an interest in supporting local restaurants through take-out and delivery.

“And the ways consumers want to be able to get that food is changing too, with 57.7% of respondents more interested in home delivery of groceries, and 34.9% expecting to maintain that habit post-pandemic,” Nicole said.

Now, Harvie is hoping to take their model mainstream and recently launched a crowdfunded investment through Honeycomb Credit. Their vision is to connect 5 million households with local farmers and producers on their platform by 2030.

“If we can pull this off, it would give local farmers and producers the ability to really compete with the big guys that currently rule the grocery market,” Nicole said. “When consumers prioritize sourcing their groceries locally, they strengthen the local food system, making it more resilient. This helps preserve local farmland, provides jobs locally, reduces waste, promotes more sustainable agricultural practices, and reduces emissions from transporting food from field to plate.”

To learn more about what you can get in a Harvie box, the benefits of buying directly from local farmers, and why you should care about where your food comes from, read our full Q-and-A with Nicole Whalen from Harvie.

I Spy

How’s your yinzer knowledge?

Why not put it to the test by becoming a member? Today our members are getting an exclusive round of I Spy in their newsletters where we ask them to tell us where they can find the image above. The winner scores free bragging rights in an upcoming newsletter. 

Join us as an Incline Insider and get access to members-only content right here in your inbox.

Ready to join? Come spy with us.

Today

🧘 Join an introduction to Hatha yoga practice at Frick Environmental Center. (Point Breeze)

♻️ Learn how "recycle right" at a webinar with Pennsylvania Resources Council that includes resources for blue bin recycling, as well as electronics, chemicals, tires, yard debris and other materials (Online)

Tomorrow

🚰 Learn about the historic Herron Hill Pumping Station in Oakland and little-know architect William S. Fraser at Preservation Pittsburgh's Virtual Lecture Series (Online)

🎭 Catch Pittsburgh Public Theater's virtual benefit reading of The Bergerac Simulation, Mora V. Harris’ imaginative update to Edmond Rostand’s French farce Cyrano de Bergerac, that shows when we take romance online, it’s easier than ever to get your signals crossed (Online)

🎞️ Watch a virtual screening of the award-winning international film “Sama" at CMU’s global cinema fest (Online)

Friday

📽️ Drive-in at the Carrie Blast Furnaces for a screening of the locally filmed movie “Fences,” the kickoff of the Rivers of Steel Carrie Carpool Cinema series (Homestead)

😋 Watch some cool cooking demos at the Taste for Pace 2021 Virtual Cooking Competition (Online)

🍄 Hike for spring mushrooms with the President of the Western PA Mushroom Club and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (Highland Park)

🎷 Get jazzed up with Pittsburgh Opera's free livestream of Charlie Parker's Yardbird (Online)

Saturday

📽️ Drive-in at the Carrie Blast Furnaces for a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,”  the second showing in the Rivers of Steel Carrie Carpool Cinema series (Homestead)

🛍️ Support local makers at the first Lawrenceville Pop-Up Market of the season at Radiant Hall and Ice House Studios (Lawrenceville)

🌳 Awaken your senses and embrace nature with a 90-minute guided Forest Bathing (Point Breeze)

🌳 Help beautify and spring clean our parks at Phillips Park Volunteer Clean Up Day (Carrick)

🌳 Help beautify and maintain our parks at Sheraden Park Clean Up day (Sheraden)

🥾 Celebrating nature and poetry at Hike-U: Haiku Hike. (Oakland)

One more thing …

Yesterday, I asked our readers to share a memory or photo to honor the passing of Pittsburgh legend and longtime Pirates usher, Phil Coyne. Thank you to Marcy E., who sent in her photo below, taken at a ballgame back in 2017. I'll be sharing more in the next couple days!

That’s it for today’s edition. See you tomorrow!

— Francesca at The Incline

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