Many believe that everyone shares in this land of milk and honey we have in the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee region. In addition to countless attractions and amenities, there are scores of restaurants, well-stocked grocery stores, and retail shops. However, for some local residents and families, our region is not a land of plenty.
The high cost of basics – housing, utilities, childcare, and transportation – cuts into the majority of income, frequently leaving food an unachievable ‘option.’ According to the 2000 Census, over one fifth of our region’s population lived at or below a government-established poverty level. Approximately 44 percent of local households with an income of less than $30,000 reported moderate to severe problems with obtaining adequate food and nutrition.
Who steps in to help the residents of our community who need basic assistance with food and nutrition? Since 1991, Project MANA (Making Adequate Nutrition Accessible) has been the most prominent hunger relief organization serving North Lake Tahoe and Truckee. With the help of many local businesses and other community organizations, Project MANA’s small staff and active team of volunteers gather and distribute food to those in need. This neighbor-helping-neighbor effort makes Waste Buster smile. I smile even more broadly knowing that perfectly good food is being directed to people in need, rather than being thrown away.
According to Project MANA Executive Director George LeBard, the food they gather comes from a variety of sources, including food drives, donations from individuals and organizations, local businesses, and even inventory from restaurants that are closing down or have unused product from catered events.
Just about every time Project MANA distributes food, they achieve a primary Waste Buster goal – reducing waste by finding a better home for it than the landfill. Project MANA collects soon-to-expire perishable products from participating local stores that would otherwise have to simply throw this food away. It’s great to see shopping carts and boxes full of milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and all kinds of bread being loaded into trucks for redistribution rather than tossed into dumpsters.
According to LeBard, stores which participate in this effort include the Kings Beach Safeway; Raley’s and the Village Market in Incline Village; Albertson’s, Safeway, New Moon Natural Foods, Treat Box, Piper’s Patisserie, Truckee Farmer’s Market, Truckee Central Market, and Scraps Dog Bakery (for pets of clients) in Truckee; Squaw Valley Chapel and Alice’s Mountain Market in Squaw Valley; and Safeway, Albertson’s, Tahoe House, New Moon Natural Foods, Starbucks and the Foothill Farmer’s Market in Tahoe City. These local businesses all deserve credit for supporting the community and reducing waste.
‘On average, we serve about 200 families a week,’ said LeBard. ‘During peak times, we serve about 150 families in Truckee, 80 in Kings Beach and 40 in Incline Village.’ In addition to providing food, Project MANA also educates families on the importance of proper nutrition.
Two established Project MANA community gardens in Kings Beach and Truckee demonstrate the nutritional and economic value of having a garden. The more food we can grow and produce locally, the less has to be brought in by trucks. The gardens are small steps, but representative of the idea that more could and should be done by allowing local land to provide nourishment.
In California, the wealthiest state in our nation, 5.2 million people live in poverty and 2.2 million children are hungry or at risk of hunger. Project MANA is working to alleviate hunger and in the meantime also combating waste in our region. A hearty Waste Buster salute to Project MANA, 800-617-8662 or projectmana.org.
Report Card: Poverty Sets Stage for Hunger
The Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee recently published the ‘Community Report Card,’ a look at the health and well-being of our region. It reports that the Tahoe/Truckee median household income increased between 1990 and 2000 from $46,732 to $54,975. However, the number of individuals living between 100 and 200 percent of poverty increased by 9 percent. Translated, that means that over one fifth of the region’s population (21.8 percent or 6,261 residents) lived at or below the 200 percent poverty level ($16,700 annually for an individual or $34,100 for a family of four).
The Report Card also notes that the median home price in our region nearly doubled between 2000 and 2006, from $400,000 to $700,000. Most families in the Tahoe/Truckee region can’t afford to own a home in this price range. Affordable rental units are scare, or literally non-existent. One can see why families struggle to find enough money for food.
The complete Tahoe/Truckee Community Report Card is available at communitycollaborative.org.
