BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Pearl Young Foundation held its second annual food giveaway in honor of Pearl Young, one of the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting on May 14, 2022 at a Tops supermarket. 

“One of the best ways to help us lift our spirits is to do something that she did and so our heart is really into this,” said Pearl Young’s daughter, Pamela Pritchett.

Pearl was someone who consistently did what she could to help her community.

What You Need To Know

  • It has been nearly two years since the May 14 shooting that took the lives of 10 people in the City of Buffalo

  • The Pearl Young Foundation is keeping Pearl Young alive by giving back to the community

  • The second annual Pearl Young food giveaway distributed food and offered health screenings to one Buffalo community

“My mom would do her pantry work every single Saturday and so we just wanted to carry it on,” said Pritchett. “Every single Saturday and I know this because she used to make me come down here and help her out.”

The giveaway is now a reminder of the importance of coming together as a community, especially in times of struggle. 

“It’s important to our community because it is a reminder of the needs that certain people have in the community,” Pritchett said. “We can talk about it or either we can try our very best to do something about it.”

It's now bringing people support and honoring Pearl’s true legacy. 

“Two minutes and three seconds is not her legacy. My mother’s legacy is a whole lot bigger than that,” Pritchett said. “This is her legacy. Her legacy is not May 14. April 27 -- what we’re dong right out here, this is her legacy.”

The food distribution has grown since its inception, now  offering people the chance to receive health screenings along with plenty of food for those in need.

“So when I come out here and I see all of us out here in the community again, it just lets me know that, you know what, May 14 happened but we’re bigger than that. We’re stronger than that,” said Pritchett. Leaving people with full pantries and fuller hearts.

“In spite of what’s coming up on 5/14 my heart is feeling really good right now because this is something that she did every Saturday. So we’re just really grateful to be apart of it,” Pritchett said.