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In Summer of 2021 Terina J. Hicks, founder of CobblerWorld, will open her first commercial kitchen after six years of operation. “It’s a dream come true,” said Hicks. “I’ve been working hard at this for a long time. It feels good, you know, to see that work rewarded and to have the community come out and support you.” Hicks deserves plenty of credit for achieving this milestone, but one unlikely partnership with a theater company helped push her across the finish line – Quantum Theatre and its NearBuy local commerce initiative.

Quantum has made its name with a particular brand of experimental theater making. Its seasons of eclectic works range from Shakespeare and operas to contemporary plays and immersive three-dimensional experiences. All share a key mode of production — they are environmentally made. Founder and Artistic Director Karla Boos takes audiences outside of performance temples, like those Downtown in the Cultural District, and into hidden gems all over the city. Now in its 30th year, the homes for its projects number nearly 100, but favorites include the Braddock Carnegie Library’s abandoned swimming pool for Thérèse Raquin, a grove of crabapple trees at the Frick Museum for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a cabin built on a dock at Aspinwall Riverfront Park for The River, and the Carrie Blast Furnaces for recent production of King Lear.

It has also been longstanding Quantum practice to partner with local restaurants and other community businesses in host neighborhoods. These partnerships have been fruitful for partners – Superior Motors saw over $14,000 in business from Quantum patrons bound for Lear – but they also offer something unique to Quantum’s audience. They get to join a curated exploration of their city that broadens their awareness of Pittsburgh’s rich tapestry of neighborhoods, where they often return with friends or family in tow.

The shows in our digital season were rewarding artistically and, importantly, allowed us to offer good paid work to artists while our field has been decimated. But without connection to community it still felt like a crucial aspect of the Quantum experience was missing.”

However, with the arrival of the pandemic in March, Quantum’s productions, like all live theater across the country, shut down and moved to a new, entirely virtual, context. 

“It has been a challenging time for everyone in the business of bringing people together in-person,” said Executive Director Stewart Urist. “The shows in our digital season were rewarding artistically and, importantly, allowed us to offer good paid work to artists while our field has been decimated. But without connection to community it still felt like a crucial aspect of the Quantum experience was missing.”

Quantum adapted. Leaping on a proposal from The Richard King Mellon Foundation for responses to the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, NearBuy was born.

NearBuy’s premise is simple. Visit a partner restaurant, mention Quantum, and your purchase is matched 1:1 with gift certificates distributed to neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Though Quantum could not visit neighborhoods, its audiences still could, and in the spirit of its pre-pandemic partnerships, both program partners and gift certificate distribution were focused on neighborhoods hosting upcoming live works: Point Breeze North and Homewood in connection with a planned June 2021 world premiere of Michael Mitnick’s The Current War, and Downtown where Lucy Kirkwood’s Chimerica will take up residence in the fall.

Quantum piloted the program with three partners in September and October of 2020: Everyday Café, CobblerWorld, and Yuzu Kitchen. Since then, it has expanded to include more than a half-dozen businesses. All told this has meant over $22,500 to support local restaurants . Looking forward into the rest of 2021 the company is aiming even higher. A steady stream of new partners has been unveiled, recent additions include Bae Bae’s Kitchen, Black Radish Kitchen, and the East-End Food Co-op, with an overall goal of engaging 15 partners and directing $100,000 to this hard-hit sector.

But even more important than keeping restaurants in business through a time of intermittent closures and cautious diners is the helping hand offered to neighbors. According to recent data from Feeding America, food insecurity in Southwestern PA has increased by more than 40%. By working with experienced distribution partners like 412 Food Rescue to get food directly into the hands of those in need, NearBuy is poised to help address this dire problem and has already distributed hundreds of meals. And by providing many of its meals in the form of gift certificates and vouchers, it offers dignity as well as a warm meal. A lifeline to normalcy in a hard time.

To learn more and to support NearBuy and its current partners, please visit www.quantumtheatre.com/nearbuy.

Any purchase attributed to the program qualifies to be matched.