$6 million awarded to community organizations to fight food insecurity and improve food access

The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) has expanded funding to 14 projects aimed at improving food access and security throughout the state. The first $500,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds were awarded to six organizations in May of 2021. This additional $6 million will go towards expanding those efforts and new projects.

“Everyone deserves a meal when they are hungry and we need to be investing in infrastructure and expansion of food assistance services to ensure all Nevadans have access to food,” said NDA Director Jennifer Ott. “It’s wonderful to see the success and impact the first round of projects had on our community. This additional funding will help maintain and expand those efforts to meet more Nevadans where they need it.”

Food insecurity is present throughout Nevada, but the resources to fight it have historically been centralized in the state’s urban centers. These projects will expand food distribution and food assistance resources in underserved rural and Tribal communities, as well as provide additional assistance to high-need urban areas. Projects from 14 organizations were funded with the goal of improving food security in the state:

• Northern Nevada Dream Center received $600,000 to increase food storage space, which will in turn increase distribution capacity. They will be collaborating with partners to increase food availability in rural counties.
• Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada received $750,000 to establish a food pantry in Humboldt County and purchase foods for distributions.
• Fallon Food Hub received $633,000 to source food for distributions from local small and medium sized farms to be distributed in Churchill County and the Fallon Paiute Shoshone reservation.
• Food Bank of Northern Nevada received more than $500,000 to expand food access and support smaller neighborhood needs with mobile food distributions.
• Lutheran Social Services of Nevada received more than $285,000 to expand their existing food pantry site at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church and launch a new food distribution site.
• Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon & Story Counties received $620,000 to increase the capacity and food available at the Dayton Food Pantry.
• Helping Hands of Vegas Valley, Inc. received $400,000 to expand current food services and deliveries and increase food availability.
• Soulful Seeds received more than $134,000 to expand infrastructure and scale up operations of the Garden at Our Place Campus.
• The Just One Project received more than $664,000 to expand and increase home delivered meals to an additional 200 homebound seniors in southern Nevada.
• Eddy House received more than $94,000 to improve infrastructure and supplies to better meet needs for food distributions.
• Jewish Family Service Agency received more than $453,000 to enhance existing food pantry and expand distributions to better serve the community.
• Storey County Senior Services received $270,000 to establish a food pantry and provide food delivery in Lockwood.
• Keystone Enrichment Foundation received more than $435,000 to expand their food pantry and purchase foods for additional distributions.
• Women and Children’s Center of the Sierra received nearly $140,000 to expand food storage capacity for food distribution in southeast Reno.

The NDA is continually developing food security initiatives and opportunities will be available for organizations interested in helping. To learn more about the NDA’s food security efforts and find meal sites, visit agri.nv.gov.

About the Nevada Department of Agriculture

The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) mission is to preserve, protect and promote Nevada’s agriculture. The department has 225 dedicated employees providing services in its five divisions, Administrative Services, Animal Industry, Measurement Standards, Food and Nutrition, and Plant Health and Compliance. The department’s $288 million budget facilitates regulatory and administrative work in agriculture and food manufacturing industries, protecting public and environmental health and worker safety, and providing food distribution and oversight for the United States Department of Agriculture’s school and community nutrition programs.