PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – You might know him as one of the best guards in Pitt history or breaking down Pitt basketball with Bill Hillgrove on 93.7 The Fan and the Pitt Radio Network, but before that Curtis Aiken often didn't have a meal.
Aiken grew up in Buffalo and even though he was a star athlete, his family didn't have the same opportunities as others.
"There were times where you get up in the morning and you want to eat," Aiken told the Fan Morning Show. "There are excuses (from your family) about why you can't eat. As a kid, you don't realize that. When you get a little older you understand that was happening because there wasn't food there."
"We didn't have the resources for a simple meal. It's so unfair for any kid to be in that position where they have to be hungry and not have food to eat."
One in eight southwestern Pennsylvanians face hunger including one in six children according the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Last year the food bank distributed enough food for nearly 48 million meals and 36% of the food given out last year was fresh, healthy produce.
Aiken told Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson on the Fan Morning Show he talks to college athletes about the opportunity to use their platform. What they can do with their newfound resources and how they can make a difference for those in Pittsburgh or their hometowns.
"This is important to me because I was one of those kids that were in need," Aiken said. "My family grew up in a food desert. We grew up in an area in which most of the people that lived in that area just didn't have the resources and sometimes we came up short."
One of Pitt's all-time leading scorers and now a member of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees, Aiken looks forward to the Audacy Pittsburgh Feed the Need event every year. He said there was a lot of love that got him through food insufficiency growing up, but others may not have been so lucky. He wants to let people know about his story and how others helping his family allowed him to be who he is today.
You can help the Giant Eagle Feed the Need Radiothon by texting NEED to 50155 or clicking on the story on our website. One dollar provides enough food for up to three meals.
