Food aid groups in valley
Need help?
If you or someone you know is in need of food, here are a few places to find help:
Three Square food bank keeps an updated list of food distribution sites with dates and hours of operation on its website at threesquare.org/help. The map and list are updated in real time so the most current information is available. Community members in need can call 702-644-3663 for more information.
Like the Chefs 4 Vegas Facebook Page to find details on where and when the team will be distributing boxes of produce.
People in need of home meal delivery, without an existing relationship with an agency, can contact Delivering with Dignity at 888-603-3548.
Want to help?
Delivering with Dignity is seeking
“food heroes” to deliver meals to those in need. Volunteers can sign up by going to deliveringwithdignitylv.org or the United Way of Southern Nevada’s website — volunteer.uwsn.org/need — or by calling Punam Mathur at 702-232-2281. To make a donation to help cover the costs of meals, go to deliveringwithdignitylv.org.
Donate to Three Square’s Coronavirus Emergency Food Fund by calling 702-6443663 or visiting threesquare.org.
To donate money to Chefs 4 Vegas, or volunteer to help with food distribution, direct message the group through its Facebook page. Food donations must come from approved sources, and the group will work with you to coordinate them. out an application for SNAP — for food stamps — or where they can get some mental health direction, or (help with) substance abuse issues, they don’t really have that shoulder to lean on at a drive-thru.”
For Chefs 4 Vegas, which grew out of a group of local chefs meeting in a dirt lot to discuss how they could help feed neighbors struggling during the pandemic, finding similar local partners has allowed them to distribute 1,500 boxes of produce per week locally. When they read on social media that veterans were eating dog food in a rural Nevada town, they responded by filling a 53foot refrigerated truck with food and driving it to the town’s community center.
The group’s president, Jonathan Batista, said working with existing organizations, but remaining independent, has allowed it to meet the growing need while cutting through some red tape.
“With (some of ) the bigger organizations, they ask you to prove your poverty,” said Batista, who has been on the receiving end of food aid and remains sensitive to the indignities that can come with that situation. “It’s like, are you homeless? Prove that. Do you have a job? Prove that. How many kids do you have? Prove that.
“We have no registration, no problems.”
While innovative models have helped reduce lines, Batista stressed that now is not the time to get complacent.
“The lines have changed, but the need has not,” he insisted.
Scott agreed, estimating that over 20 percent of our community remains food insecure, up from around 12 percent before this crisis. In May, Three Square distributed 5.4 million pounds of food, up from 4.2 million pounds in May 2019.
“The way I would best describe it is, (before COVID-19) we were running this marathon. We were doing well. We were actually out ahead a little bit. And then all of a sudden we had to turn it into a dead sprint,” he said. “But now it’s more of an Ironman. It’s more of a triathlon. Because it’s just so much bigger right now, and it is not remotely resolved.”
Contact Al Mancini at amancini @reviewjournal.com. Follow @Almancinivegas on Twitter and Instagram.