With the holidays coming up, Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada is gearing up to serve the community.
In honor of America 250, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will be delivering a semi-truck carrying about 40,000 pounds of food to Catholic Charities later this week.
This food will be distributed throughout all of northern Nevada, including Reno, Carson City, Gardnerville, Fallon, and a handful of other places.
Folks with Catholic Charities tell us they've seen an increase in people stopping by at all of the pantries they operate.
Marie Baxter, CEO of Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada, said, "Not just our Client Choice pantry here in downtown Reno, but we are seeing, on average, 20 to 30 new families every single day. A lot of people have lost their SNAP benefits. The rising cost of fuel, the rising cost of housing. People are leaning on food pantries in an entirely different way."
They say one pantry can see about 300 people daily, which is a couple thousand people each week, and with the holidays around the corner, they expect to see even more people stopping by, meaning this big load of food came at the right time.
The need is just as urgent in rural areas.
Mary Sorensen, the Communication Director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in Fallon told us, "When you're in Fallon, you're in a rural area. You don't always get the resources that they have in Reno, and so personally delivering it to these food pantries means so much. I was in contact with them. They're so excited to receive the food. They're so thankful, and I'm so happy to be a part of it."
Holidays are always a busier time for Catholic Charities and all their pantries.
Baxter, told us, "We have about 2,000 Thanksgiving baskets that will go out in 10 days, because we want to make sure people have them available, as well as we come into Christmas season, so in addition to our regular numbers of people who come into our pantries, the holidays elevate that. We allow people to come in and get those extra holiday meals."
Folks with Catholic Charities said volunteers are something they heavily rely on during these busy times, and they are always welcoming new ones to come by.
