New food bank starts up

There was nary a mention of the building's troubled history on Monday as Three Square, a local nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger, opened a new food bank inside a familiar warehouse near Craig and Pecos roads.

Instead, there was an ice sculpture, a performance by cast members from "Stomp Out Loud," a gourmet spread, a deejay spinning Christmas carols and dozens of dignitaries from the worlds of politics, business and charity.

The spectacle seemed far removed from the humble operation that was the Community Food Bank of Clark County, previous occupant of the 50,000-square-foot warehouse at 4190 N. Pecos Road.

That food bank closed recently amid allegations that it had been selling food and other donations it should have given away.

Three Square, an organization established earlier this year, moved to take over where Community Food Bank left off, distributing food to dozens of local social service organizations and churches that help the poor.

"Here's one war we need to all voluntarily sign up for, and that's the war against hunger," said Punam Mathur, Three Square's president.

Three Square was founded by Eric Hilton, the septuagenarian son of the late Conrad N. Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotel chain.

Eric Hilton read aloud at the new food bank's opening a section of his father's will that encouraged the practice of charity and the relief of "suffering of the depressed and destitute."

The younger Hilton said he decided to focus on ending hunger locally several years ago after seeing a late-night TV story about a nonprofit agency that fed the hungry closing its doors because of financial problems.

The response to his idea has been overwhelming, he said.

"I've never seen a community pull together like this one has."

Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, praised private, nonprofit and government entities for coming together to support the new food bank, the importance of which is clear, she said.

"How does a person work, how does a child learn, when they are hungry? The answer is simple: They don't."

Three Square had planned to open a food bank as part of a 15- to 20-acre food production and distribution campus to be built in 2009, but stepped up its plans after Community Food Bank foundered.

America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest "hunger relief" organization, with a network of more than 200 food banks and food salvage organizations, terminated the 30-year-old Community Food Bank's membership in August, effectively forcing its closure.

The organization had sent staff members and hired private investigators posing as clients to visit the food bank several times, where they were able to buy food and other items, an America's Second Harvest official said.

Bessie Braggs, longtime director of the Community Food Bank, has denied allegations that the food bank sold food and other items, including pillows and sleeping bags, that it should have given away.

America's Second Harvest helps route to food banks the surplus and damaged food and grocery items from donors including Albertsons, PepsiCo, Tyson Foods and WalMart.

The organization provided a $2 million grant to Three Square to guarantee the funding and building equipment to finance the new food bank for a year.

The Pecos warehouse, which was financed a couple of years ago in part by $3.2 million in county and community development block grant funds from Clark County, was transferred to Three Square under a deed of trust.

Three Square hopes to more than double the four million meals served each year by 150 nonprofit agencies in the Las Vegas Valley, Hilton said.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0285.