PITTSBURGH — When Ray Mikesell was a child growing up on Pittsburgh’s North Side in the 1970s and 80s, his family often found itself in need despite both of his parents working full time.

“When times were tough we went to the neighborhood church or community center where we would get a box, as I remember, that had canned corn, and I mean it was a can with a white label and the word ‘corn’ in black lettering, puffed rice cereal, and of course government cheese,” said Mikesell, the owner of Cafe Raymond on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh.