Buy Local

Purchasing from local businesses supports the economic sustainability of the communities that surround the University of Pittsburgh. Local businesses are defined as those in Allegheny County, the State of Pennsylvania, or regional. In addition to our University-wide Contracted Suppliers, we encourage University departments to consider purchasing products or services from local suppliers when possible. 

University Goals

Spending with local businesses is an institutional priority. The University has established the following goals, some as part of the Plan for Pitt, to support community and economic development by increasing spending with local businesses. The information and resources on this page are intended to assist departments with identifying suppliers and contributing to these goals:

  Construction Non-Construction
Pittsburgh N/A 18%
Allegheny County spend with Minority Business Enterprises (MBE)1 12% 7%
Allegheny County spend with Black-owned businesses N/A 4 - 5%
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 73% 52%

Regional

(the greater 13 SW PA Counties outside of Allegheny County)

70% 45%

1MBE are those that are at least 51% owned by a member of the following minority groups: Asian Indian American, Asian Pacific American, Black/African American, Hispanic/
Latinx, and Native American.

The University has also established similar goals to increase spending with diversesuppliers, Visit this page for information about buying local, including resources. 

Finding Local Suppliers

Review the listing of local suppliers from which the University has purchased goods or services. Please note, this is a static excel file that will download on your computer. Once downloaded, you can sort the data using the appropriate column headers including name, category (i.e. commodity), diverse business designation, and whether they are a University-wide Contracted Supplier.

While it is an institutional priority to increase spending with local and diverse businesses, it is important to remember that University Policy AO 30 requires the use of University-wide contracted suppliers, when available, for the product/service being purchased. We recommend first checking to see if there is  University-wide Contracted Supplier that can provide the product/service before purchasing elsewhere. The above listing of local suppliers can be sorted to identify which are University-wide Contracted Suppliers. Additionally, you can also sort the University-wide Contracted Supplier directory by the PA Suppliers field.

Local Restaurants

America To Go (ATG) provides a punch-out site in the PantherExpress System for ordering catered food and beverages from local restaurants for small to medium-sized groups, when paid for by the University. The restaurants available through the ATG punch-out are not only local, but many are also diverse businesses. Utilizing these restaurants contributes to the University’s goals, as part of the Plan for Pitt, to support the community and economic development by increasing spending with local and diverse businesses.

Visit this page to learn more about America To Go, including the benefits of using the punch-out, how to place an order, and participating local restaurants.

Join the Pitt Panther Community as a University of Pittsburgh caterer! Learn more about how to apply to become a caterer for Pitt. 

Events & Training

Learn more about and register to attend an upcoming virtual session of How to Increase Spending with Diverse & Local Suppliers.

Supplier Spotlight

Visit this page to learn more about featured local and diverse suppliers with whom the University has worked.