September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness about hunger in America. As Sierra Community House’s director of hunger relief operations, I often receive surprised reactions when talking about my work to people from outside of our area, like, “I never would think there is food insecurity in a place as nice as Lake Tahoe.” If you think of Tahoe as lakefront tech CEO mansions, private jet access, and recreation heaven, I can totally understand that thinking. But if you consider the housing crisis, the soaring cost of living, and the unpredictable nature of seasonal work, it becomes clear that food insecurity is much closer to our community than the glossy images of ski resorts and real estate ads might suggest. The truth is that our team feeds more than 290,000 meals to North Tahoe and Truckee residents every year, and a large percentage of those households include children under 18.
A traditional definition of food insecurity is: “The limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways which prevents individuals and families from living their healthiest, most fulfilling lives possible.” We are committed to destigmatizing what it means to be food insecure, and thus opening the doors for community members to feel comfortable seeking food assistance. When our community no longer needs to make the tough decision between having a healthy and balanced diet or paying their bills, we all benefit as a healthier and happier community.
Food banks are the “wholesale” warehouse nodes in the food assistance supply chain while food pantries are the retail spaces distributing food assistance to the community. The modern food pantry should feel welcoming to facilitate a positive experience. It’s also now widely recognized that people using a pantry should be able to choose their food with the same dignity as if they were shopping at a grocery store. Allowing food assistance recipients to make their own choices not only reduces waste, but also helps them build a connection to their food and allows for the promotion of new and healthy items to enter their kitchen. If the food provided is culturally relevant and healthy, the pantry is hitting it out of the park.
There is enough healthy food in our supply chains that no food should go to waste, and access to healthy food should be universal. This is the beautiful marriage between surplus and scarcity that is feeding two birds with one scone. With the edible food waste recovery bill CA SB 1383 being enforced for local grocery stores, we are also helping to divert food away from landfills and into the homes of those in our community with the need for supplemental food assistance.
To me, community means we look out for each other, and a safety net should exist so that a member of our community can utilize free food assistance resources rather than succumb to an unhealthy diet and/or skip on other household necessities. If your family ever needs short- or long-term food assistance, I encourage you to visit one of our weekly food distributions listed below. We are always looking for volunteers to drive our routes to home-bound community members and to work our weekly food distributions; please visit our website to submit a volunteer application, or consider donating to Sierra Community House at sierracommunityhouse.org.
Sierra Community House Food Distributions:
- Community pantry distribution at our Truckee Warehouse, every Tuesday from 12 to 6 p.m., 12116 Chandelle Way Unit 2D
- Walk-up food distribution at our Kings Beach office, every Wednesday from 3 to 4:30 p.m., 265 Bear St.
- Drive-through food distribution in Incline Village, every Thursday from 2 to 3:30 p.m., at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 341 Village Blvd.
~ Patrick Kratzer is the director of the hunger relief program at Sierra Community House. Originally from Pollock Pines, he has lived in the Truckee area on and off since 2013. His background is in supply chain management with a focus on humanitarian relief. Patrick is an avid climber, surfer, and snowboarder.
