Hard times for hungry

If you need evidence that people are hurting financially in the valley, look no further than the food distribution center at the Heritage United Methodist Church, 2075 N. Lamb Blvd.

"We need to fill these shelves back up," said volunteer David Helton, indicating the nearly empty larder. "When we run out of food, that's that."

The church is one of several food pantries on the east side of town. Volunteers there say the area is one of the neediest, but it is also one of the most sparsely served areas with only 19 distribution centers in the Sunrise and Whitney area out of 250 programs Three Square food bank serves throughout Southern Nevada.

Heritage United Methodist Church volunteers distribute food from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday nearly every week of the year.

"We gave food to 103 families today," said volunteer Betty Walthers on a recent Tuesday afternoon. "Some of those families have six, seven or even eight people."

Volunteers say the fact that they have food to give out at all is in large part due to the work of Diana Deck, who is in charge of the food distribution program at the church.

The church allows families to pick up food twice every 90 days, and staples often run low.

We don't always have meat or cereal," volunteer Linda McEathron said. "We try to always keep some food around for emergencies. There are always emergencies."

Volunteers recently distributed 86 baskets of food to families for Thanksgiving, which is more than twice last year's distribution.

"It's gotten a lot worse in the last few years" McEathron said. "It used to be the very poor. Now it's people like you and I who had homes and lost them because of the foreclosure crisis. It's people who have lost jobs and have to rely on food pantries to get by. We're seeing people we wouldn't normally see here, working-class people, the elderly and single men and women."

One of the church's clients is Gene "Doc" Rogers. He drove a truck for 37 years until his vision went bad within a few months in 2007. He has tried to work a few odd jobs since then with his limited vision. He was particularly fond of a five-week stint installing hardwood floors in the VIP rooms of a major Strip property. He used skills he gained maintaining bowling alleys, achieving a tight fit and a smooth surface primarily by feel. But for the most part he can't work, because the majority of his job skills require excellent vision.

For Rogers and the other clients, the food pantry makes the difference between getting by and going hungry. The pantry receives donations from congregation members, charitable organizations and food from the Three Square food bank, which uses its bulk purchasing power to acquire food at lower prices.

Feeding America, Three Square's national parent organization, had a 46 percent increase in people served from 2006 to 2010, and local charities say the need in Las Vegas has only increased in recent years.

"When I got here, we were serving breakfast for eight to 10 homeless men each day," said Linda Clark, the Outreach Supervisor for City Mission of Las Vegas, 2214 N. Pecos Road. "I've been here just under two years, and the numbers have at least tripled. Some days we don't have enough room for everyone to sit down at the same time."

The mission serves mostly the local homeless community, but some clients come from as far away as downtown. The diners pitch in and help serve the food, and Clark calls her clients as a tight community within a community. She also notes some unsettling changes in that community.

"We used to see predominantly men," she said "Now we're also seeing women and occasionally children. It's tough out there. These are tough times for everyone, not just the homeless."

Clark said her clients work together and help one another, whether that means sharing food or helping with each other's animals. When they are offered something they already have, such as toiletries, they frequently recommend someone else who does need it.

That same spirit can be seen in the line at the food pantry at Heritage United Methodist Church. The mood is warm and convivial, with people swapping money-saving tips and passing along information about good but inexpensive housing.

"I probably get into more trouble trying to help out people than I should," Rogers said. "I see someone who needs something, I tend to give it to them, and then I find myself short."

Rogers doesn't let the situation get him down. He recently moved into a trailer home near Las Vegas Boulevard, which he says suits him just fine.

"It's tough," Rogers said, "but I'm gonna make it."

Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 380-4532.