Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada (CCNN) is seeking more volunteers to help serve cafeteria-style lunches at the CARES Campus.
Previously, the group only offered hot dinners on-site and folks had to walk across the street to St. Vincent's Dining Room for the midday meal or get one of a handful of to-go boxes delivered to the Cares Campus.
Catholic Churches CEO Marie Baxter says going from containers to the cafeteria gives homeless people a chance to come together as a community, which is an opportunity they might not get otherwise.
"This is their only opportunity to have a hot meal," Baxter says.
CCNN relies on its volunteers, who in this case serve all of the meals they offer at both locations.
Baxter says their volunteers add to the sense of community.
"They get to engage with our amazing volunteers and staff," Baxter says, "And really just have a quiet moment to have a really high-quality meal."
She adds that spending time in the cafeteria gives these folks a chance to rest and take a break from their everyday lives.
CCNN has offered meals at the Cares Campus since it opened in 2021. However, ongoing construction mixed with the COVID-19 pandemic meant every meal the group served had to be in a to-go container. But now, their volunteers will cook lunch and dinner every day on-site at the CARES Campus.
"So, yay, no more to-go containers," Baxter says, "That's been a big deal for us because it's been almost four years of that."
Baxter says new facilities have allowed CCNN to offer hot meals twice a day.
"They ultimately put in a lovely cafeteria and dining room," she says, "Which actually opened about a year ago."
CCNN started serving dinner in-person once the cafeteria opened.
The group is no stranger to offering cafeteria meals to homeless people, serving them at St. Vincent's for over 60 years.
CCNN is looking for more volunteers now that they're offering two meals a day. They need 10 volunteers to serve lunch between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. - five at the CARES Campus and five at St. Vincent's - and the same amount for dinner from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Volunteers must be 18 or older.
Baxter says individuals, businesses, and groups can sign up to volunteer online, and it's a simple process.
"You don't have to call somebody," she says, "It's not a complicated process. You can see what [times are] available, and you can go ahead and indicate when you want to come."
To volunteer with CCNN, or learn more about the organization's meal programs, check out the Volunteers page on the CCNN website.
