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Hunger Action Month: Understanding Food Insecurity in Southern Nevada
Ask most people in Las Vegas if they know someone who's gone hungry, and they'll probably say no. Ask the same question a different way—do you know someone who's skipped a meal so their kids could eat, or stretched a grocery budget further than it was ever meant to go—and the answer changes fast. Hunger in Southern Nevada rarely looks like what people picture. It looks like a coworker, a classmate, or the family two doors down.
September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort to shine a light on food insecurity and rally communities to do something about it. At Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, this is a cause we live out every day through our food pantry, dining facility, and Meals on Wheels program. This month, we're asking our neighbors across the valley to understand the scale of the problem and to help us close the gap.
What Food Insecurity Actually Looks Like Here
Food insecurity means not always knowing where your next meal is coming from, even if you're working, even if you're raising a family, even if from the outside your life looks stable. It's the parent who skips lunch so there's enough for their kids' dinner. It's the senior on a fixed income choosing between a prescription refill and groceries. It's the family working full-time and still coming up short by the third week of the month.
Recent data from Three Square Food Bank, the region's primary food bank, paints a sobering picture: roughly one in six people in Southern Nevada is food insecure, which adds up to well over 300,000 of our neighbors. Among children, the rate is even higher, at close to one in five. And Clark County accounts for the vast majority of that need, meaning this isn't a distant, abstract issue—it's happening in our own neighborhoods, at our own schools, and among people many of us pass every day without knowing.
Rising grocery prices and housing costs have only widened the gap, pushing families who managed fine a few years ago into needing help for the first time.
Who Hunger Affects Most
Food insecurity doesn't follow a single storyline, but a few groups in Southern Nevada carry a disproportionate share of the burden:
Seniors on fixed incomes, who often face impossible choices between food, medication, and housing costs, and who may be homebound with no easy way to get to a grocery store.
Working families, who earn too much to qualify for some assistance programs but not enough to comfortably cover rising food and rent costs.
Children, whose long-term health and development are directly affected by inconsistent access to nutritious meals.
Individuals experiencing homelessness, for whom reliable access to food is often one piece of a much larger set of challenges.
Hunger touches nearly every zip code in our valley. It just isn't always visible.
How Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada Fights Hunger Every Day
Long before Hunger Action Month became a national conversation each September, addressing hunger has been part of our mission at Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada. Our approach centers on three core programs:
Hands of Hope Community Food Pantry, where registered clients can choose fresh produce, pantry staples, and other essentials once a month, giving families the dignity of selecting food that actually fits their household's needs.
St. Vincent Lied Dining Facility, which serves meals to anyone who walks through the door, no appointment or paperwork required for a hot meal.
Meals on Wheels, which delivers nutritious, home-delivered meals to homebound seniors across Southern Nevada each week, paired with a friendly check-in that often means as much as the meal itself.
Together, these programs reach thousands of people across our community every month, but the need continues to outpace what any single organization can meet alone.
How You Can Take Action This September
Hunger Action Month works because it turns awareness into action. Here's how you can be part of that this year:
Non-perishable staples help stock our pantry shelves, while financial gifts allow us to purchase exactly what's needed most, when it's needed.
From sorting pantry donations to helping serve meals at our dining facility, volunteers are the backbone of how these programs run every single day.
Sponsor or deliver a Meals on Wheels route
Homebound seniors depend on consistent, reliable delivery, and volunteer drivers are always needed.
Host a food drive
Rallying your workplace, school, or place of worship around a food drive this month can fill pantry shelves fast and gets more people talking about the issue.
Talk about it
Hunger carries a stigma that keeps people from asking for help. Talking openly about food insecurity, and about the resources available, helps break down that barrier for someone who might be struggling in silence.
Turning Awareness Into Action
Hunger Action Month is a reminder that food insecurity isn't someone else's problem to solve—it's a community-wide challenge that takes all of us showing up. Southern Nevada has the resources, the generosity, and the people to make sure no neighbor has to wonder where their next meal is coming from.
To learn more about our food programs or find out how to get involved this September, visit us at catholiccharities.com or call (702) 385-2662. Together, we can help make sure every person in Southern Nevada has a seat at the table.