LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Las Vegas-area program that started small, supplying food to 20 students at one school 14 years ago, has grown into a nonprofit that provides weekend meals for about 3,800 students at 80 southern Nevada schools.
Serving Our Kids Executive Director Dale Darcas said that when he asked school counselors what children needed most, other than back-to-school supplies, they said food for the weekend.
This fall, amid coronavirus pandemic economic hardships, Darcas said he’s seen a 27% increase in referrals from school counselors.
“The need is much greater than it’s ever been,” he told the Las Vegas Sun . He estimated there are 15,000 homeless and at-risk children in the region.
Darcas said that when his daughter was 8 years old, she took the money from her piggy bank to buy school supplies for children who didn’t have any. And as one of four children raised by a single mother, he remembered how holiday gifts would not have been possible without Toys for Tots.
“That just hit my heart thinking that as individuals we can maybe be a paycheck away from being in that situation,” he said.
The first five years, Serving Our Kids rented a storage unit and held food drives in a grocery store parking lot. A warehouse in Henderson is its 11th location in 14 years.
About 67% of the Clark County School District’s 300,000 students qualify for free and reduced lunches, the Sun reported. During the pandemic, all students get two meals daily through U.S. Department of Agriculture waivers.
Three Square, the largest Las Vegas-area community food bank, also provides weekend meal bags. But not all children qualify.
Darcas said school counselors refer other students with food needs to Serving our Kids.
“We put two oatmeal packets in the bags for the kids so that they have breakfast for Saturday and Sunday morning and then we put ravioli and a ramen noodle (package) so that they have lunch for Saturday and Sunday,” Darcas said. “And then we put other snacks in the bag as well like crackers and fruit juice and applesauce, granola bars.”
Volunteers bag meals every Thursday and a delivery driver parks across the street from campus so children can pick up their meal bags.
The program typically runs out of food every two weeks, leaning on more than 200 community partners to continue raising awareness and restocking shelves.
SOS Radio, Equity Title Co. and Sunland Asphalt & Construction put on annual food drives, and Tabbert Team mortgage lenders donates a percentage of proceeds from each home loan, Darcas said. In March, the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education donated $20,000, and Haas Automation has donated $25,000.
“Everybody has a story of how they find Serving Our Kids. It’s one of the biggest blessings to me,” said Ken Ravago, a volunteer driver.
Schools also pitch in with food drives, including Shirley & Bill Wallin, Frank Lamping, Glen Taylor and John C. Vanderburg elementary schools.
At Wallin, teacher Jaynee Perez brought students to help bag food.
“I wanted the kids to get the full picture,” Perez said. “Because when you donate it, all you know is you’re bringing it … and somebody’s picking it up. You don’t see what happens. It makes an impact.”
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