Three Square: Serving Up Gratitude, One Meal at a Time
BY STACEY GUALANDI
Early in the pandemic, a Las Vegas woman who lost her job could no longer afford to buy food, so she turned to a Three Square food distribution center for help.
A few months later, she returned with a $45 donation and told the receptionist, “I am doing better now. I just wanted to pay it forward and give thanks for the support.”
She isn’t alone, thanks to the work of Three Square, the only food bank serving four Southern Nevada counties. Director of Development, Kate Hibbard Gaines says there are thousands of people just like this woman getting the assistance they need.
Kate Hibbard Gaines
“First and foremost, there’s always a lot of gratitude once [people] know that there’s a resource that’s available and that someone’s got their back,” said Hibbard Gaines. “I think what’s been most shocking is that in 2020, we had more people reaching out to utilize the services and resources that we provide, probably for their first time in their lives.”
Before COVID-19, there were more than 272,000 people in this community who were food insecure. Now, it’s nearly doubled.
Last summer alone, Three Square distributed 6 million pounds of food—the highest volume in the organization’s history. According to the charity, Southern Nevada is currently in the grip of a hunger surge unlike anything seen since the Great Depression. Feeding America said, “Las Vegas has the worst hunger problem in the country.”
But Hibbard Gaines insists while the work and cost are daunting, Three Square continues to meet these new challenges head-on with the support of donations and their community partners.
“An individual or a family at any time can face food insecurity for any reason, and that’s something that we know and accept,” she said. “But whether it’s the great recession, October 1st mass shooting, or this pandemic, this town rallies around its community to make sure that folks have basic needs. Food is the most basic of needs.”
When Three Square launched in 2007, it had one mission: To provide wholesome food to hungry people while passionately pursuing a hunger-free community. Its first year in operation provided over 10 million pounds of food to Southern Nevada residents, a ten-fold increase over a former county food bank.
“We are essentially the hub that sources in food, and then we push it out to a network of other nonprofit partners who get it to the people who need it most,” said Hibbard Gaines.
In 2013, this east coast transplant hoped to continue her work in the nonprofit sector when she moved to Las Vegas. “It was important to me that I found a job that helped people, and I feel like I found that, day in and day out.”
Photo courtesy of Jeff Scheid
As Director of Development, Hibbard Gaines matches agencies that provide aid to those who desperately need it. Since its inception, Three Square has stretched to the community’s demands with a strong volunteer base and a number of innovative programs geared toward children and seniors—one of the most vulnerable and underreported groups.
“We were positioned heading into 2020 to be one of the first major cities to meet the meal gap of approximately 48 million meals,” Hibbard Gaines said. “But then the pandemic struck.”
The meal gap quickly increased as food insecurity rates skyrocketed from 12 percent to now just over 20 percent, or nearly 440,000 individuals in Southern Nevada. One in 5 is now food-insecure, up from 1 in 8 pre-COVID.
While uncharted territory, Three Square immediately rolled out an emergency relief plan. It increased food distribution by 250,000 meals per week and became a frontline distributor through drive-through distributions and select walk-in pantries.
“Our distributions would begin at 7 or 8 in the morning, but cars began lining up hours before,” Hibbard Gaines said. “I think it just speaks to the need and the sacrifices that people were willing to make to have food for their family.”
Three Square also opened an expanded food warehouse bought before the pandemic to store more fresh food at temperature-controlled rates and to serve more seniors, both essential components of the emergency plan. “I’m not sure that any of us anticipated that come January 2021, we would still be implementing this emergency relief plan, but we anticipate that we will be sustaining that for some time to come,” Hibbard Gaines said. “Until the economy begins to rebound and folks can get back on their feet and back to work, we will continue to do what we need to do.”
In the months ahead, Three Square plans to expand its partnerships; break down barriers to food access in vulnerable populations; and will keep working with the Clark County school district to safely distribute meals to food-insecure students through modified versions of its childhood nutrition programs.
Right now, times remain tough for many. But if you or someone you know is going hungry, Hibbard Gaines says their website will provide the help you need in a dignified manner. That’s why Three Square believes together…we CAN feed everyone.
“While we would love to put ourselves out of business, that’s never going to be a reality,” she admits. “Hopefully, those times that are tough are only temporary, but whether you need Three Square once or multiple times, we’ll be there.”
Every $1 helps provide 3 square meals. To learn more about how you can help and get help, please visit threesquare.org.
Photo courtesy of Three Square