RENO–Nevada’s two regional food banks this week began distributing some of the $3 billion in agricultural products purchased by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program.
In northern Nevada, Food Bank of Northern Nevada (FBNN) plans to distribute 345,000 pounds of produce throughout its service area, which includes more than 145 partner agencies in a 90,000 square mile area across northern Nevada.
In southern Nevada, Three Square has the potential to double its distribution with up to 1.76 million pounds of food each month – ranging from produce, dairy products, meat and eggs – sent to Clark, Lincoln, Nye and Esmeralda Counties.
“Food insecurity was a very real problem in southern Nevada before the pandemic and is now at an all-time high due to the shutdown and rising unemployment rates,” said Larry Scott, chief operating officer at Three Square Food Bank. “Since implementing our emergency response plan in mid-March, Three Square’s weekly food distribution went from 1 million pounds to 1.3 million pounds – the equivalent of 250,000 meals per week.”
