It is designed to be like a grocery store and let people pick out their own food.

In one month, the newest Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada St. Vincent's Client Choice Pantry fed nearly 7,000 people.

Thursday afternoon, they celebrated the location on 435 Eureka Avenue with a ribbon-cutting and grand opening.

"People are gravitating toward coming to the client choice pantries. Some of that is also just numbers of people that might have already been pantry utilizers but wanted this opportunity to pick out their own food," said Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada CEO Marie Baxter. 

This pantry is helping lessen food insecurity in the area and does so using a unique model. It feels like a grocery store, but those who take advantage of the program don't have to pay for the goods they leave with.

"There's just a dignity if you're coming in with your children, or maybe you're a senior, and maybe you're feeling a little trepidation about coming to a pantry. When it feels like a grocery store, it's so much more approachable," said Baxter. "And we don't want people to be hungry. We want them to feel comfortable coming in."

How much food each shopper leaves with depends on household size as well as availability.

The pantries have a daily menu that is driven by what items we have available as they rely heavily on donated products, especially for perishable items, as well as items we purchase with donated dollars.
 
As clients approach each section of the client choice pantry, there is both a sign and a volunteer guiding the client as to the quantity they can take of the items. At the time of check-in, volunteers verify household members and provide a ticket to each client that states the number of household members. The volunteers then assist the client in selecting the correct number of items based on their household size. It is not a one-to-one ratio for every item but the quantity is adjusted by household size.  
 
For example, the pantry doesn't provide six gallons of milk if there are six household members, but the quantity, often by weight or volume, is increased to provide additional dairy products per the daily menu and availability to provide more products to larger households.  

The pantry is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon, and then re-opens from 1 to 3 p.m.

More details on this location and others can be found here: Food Pantry in Northern Nevada / Catholic Charities - Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada

Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada contributed to this report.

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