Local charities’ need for food goes beyond Thanksgiving Day

Local charities will serve thousands of free Thanksgiving meals for the most vulnerable in the community Thursday.

But the local nonprofits are still in need of donations and volunteers for the next big meal on Christmas Day and for the ongoing need in the community, those with the charities said.

The need doesn’t only surface during the holidays.

“We are so grateful for all the extra help during the holiday season,” said John Fogal, director of development for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. “But we continue to need the help and support from the community all year-round. We serve 365 days a year, so donations are always helpful.”

Catholic Charities will serve about 1,500 meals for the homeless, vulnerable and children in the community at 10 a.m. Thursday at 1502 N. Main St. It will also deliver about 1,400 Thanksgiving meals to home-bound seniors on the Meals on Wheels program, charity spokeswoman Leslie Carmine said.

The Salvation Army of Southern Nevada will serve 300 to 400 meals between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at 35 W. Owens Ave., said Leslee Rogers, spokeswoman for the nonprofit.

The Las Vegas Rescue Mission on Wednesday served more than 1,000 meals during its Thanksgiving community dinner, Fogal said.

Several other meals sponsored by businesses were served this week by the local nonprofits ahead of Thanksgiving Day.

The Shade Tree, a shelter for women and children, will have a Thanksgiving buffet for its residents. From lunchtime to dinnertime, the women and children can enjoy a nice meal, Executive Director Marlene Richter said.

“All of the things that we are eating in our home, they’ll be eating here,” she said.

Barrick Gold, the world’s leading gold producer, earlier this month delivered 14,000 pounds of beef to help Three Square Food Bank and its community partners this holiday season, according to the food bank. The meat, worth over $68,000, will help feed more than 315,000 needy people in Southern Nevada.

“Protein is one of the items that’s in higher demand at food pantries,” said Brita Voris with Three Square. “This is going to provide great nutritional support to those in need.”

While the charities are set for the Thanksgiving meals being served today, some still need donations and volunteers to help serve meals on Christmas Day.

Catholic Charities has open slots for volunteers on Christmas Day, and its food pantry is always in need of donations, Carmine said.

The Salvation Army also needs volunteers to be Red Kettle Bell ringers and to help distribute toys next month, Rogers said. Different shifts are available.

It also needs toy donations as it hopes to collect 15,000 toys to help 7,000 children, she said. The organization plans to set up the toys inside Cashman Center to look like a giant toy store, where needy families can pick gifts for their children on Dec. 12 and 13.

Both the Salvation Army and Shade Tree have donation boxes at sites throughout the valley to collect gifts for children.

Catholic Charities can also use coats, jackets, shoes and pajamas for home-bound seniors.

The Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth will continue to accept fast-food restaurant and grocery store gift cards for the youth for Christmas, spokeswoman Nancy Katz said. Starting Monday, gift cards can be donated at the drop-in center at 4981 Shirley St., just south of UNLV.

“They are a lot easier for kids to use because a lot of the kids don’t have a place to go and heat up a meal,” Katz said.

And almost all local charities need donations for their food pantries after the holidays are over.

“There’s 4,500 families that are continuously visiting our food pantry once a month. In order to accommodate those families, we need donations. ” Carmine said. “Families that are coming appreciate anything that we can help them with.”

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @YeseniaAmaro.