Michael Dunker has fallen on hard times, and relies on St. Vincent's Food Pantry for some of his food.
"Trying to raise a four-year-old daughter and stuff is kind of tough," Dunker said. "So, this helps out a lot."
Thanks to a state grant worth nearly $2 million over two years, Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada will be able to help more people, like Dunker. The grant will allow them to expand food deliveries to rural communities like Winnemucca, Hawthorne, Tonopah, and Ely, starting July 1.The grant will increase annual food output by 1.5 million pounds, assisting about 5,000 new households. Fourteen of Nevada's 17 counties will receive deliveries. Esmeralda, Lincoln, and Clark are the only counties that will not be covered by CCNN.
"Those places kind of get left out, and we have an opportunity to kind of fill in those cracks and at least get people stabilized," Scott Cooksley, Director of Food Services for Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada said.
The goal is to provide a week's worth of food to families in need, including the rural areas. Rural deliveries will happen on a monthly basis, stretching throughout most of the state. Cooksley says the need is greater than you might think.
"You have families that have been there for three, four or five generations and maybe they've been working in the same industry for awhile," Cooksley said. "When those jobs dry up, for whatever reasons, there's just no jobs to replace it."
Every family member, in need, could receive 30 to 40 meals per month, in the rural areas. Dunker says without assistance from Catholic Charities, his family could face starvation.
"It's really valuable because without it, times are tough, we're struggling. So, it's good that they have this," Dunker said. Â Â
For Cooksley and the staff at St. Vincent's Food Pantry, the reward is seeing how much they help families. Especially, the children.
"They just go, 'Mom, is that mine?' You have children saying that, turning to their mom or even asking us, 'Is that mine? Can I take that home?' It doesn't get any better than that," Cooksley said.
Catholic Charities hopes to be delivering to 50 sites, statewide, once the program is fully operational. Right now, they serve 30 food pantries in three counties.
