Dining hall reopens for in-person meals
As the line of hungry residents started to swell this week outside the Salvation Army of Southern Nevada near downtown Las Vegas, chef Jeremy Wood couldn’t contain his excitement. ¶ After being shuttered since the outset of the pandemic last March, the kitchen was reopened for in-person meals. ¶ Serving the community is personal for Wood, who was homeless for three years and relied on the kitchen for meals. But he entered the group’s culinary training program and for the past eight years has been running the kitchen of five workers and many volunteers. ¶ “This is extremely rewarding for me. I serve a lot of the people I was homeless with. For a lot of them, this is their only meal of the day,” Wood said. ¶ That meal during the pandemic was a to-go package with food, water, a face mask, latex gloves and hand sanitizer. ¶ The Salvation Army would distribute 350 to 400 packages daily, officials said. ¶ But this week, with Clark County fully reopen for business, the Lied Dining Hall on Owens Avenue again featured packed tables. On Tuesday, they served grilled chicken fajitas, rice and beans, and all of the fixings to about 250 people. ¶ Equally important: The diners got a reprieve from the harsh Las Vegas conditions, which this week saw days with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees and brought an excessive heat warning from county officials. ¶ The Salvation Army’s shelter has been at full capacity of about 450 people for months. The demand was so great that officials brought in 50 cots, said Juan Salinas, director of social services at Salvation Army of Southern Nevada. ¶ The Salvation Army relies heavily on donations from community partners such as Three Square Food Bank and corporate sponsors. ¶ Officials are looking for donations of bottled water, which are in short supply as the weather continues to get hotter. Donations can be made at 35 W. Owens Ave.