Friday, June 13, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.
As the chief executive of Three Square, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end hunger in Southern Nevada, I was grateful to read Las Vegas Sun reporter Emily Richmond’s June 3 story, “School goes all out to help poor kids learn,” and your June 5 editorial regarding students who are hungry throughout the Clark County School District.
Making citizens aware of this unfathomable yet all too real issue in our community is important.
The statistics are alarming: 39 percent of students attending Clark County schools live in poverty and are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals. In other words, more than 120,000 schoolchildren in our community are food insecure!
This is why Three Square is working with the School District Food Services and Community Partnership Office, UNLV, the Latin Chamber of Commerce, the Greenspun Family Foundation, 100 Black Men, Communities in Schools, the United Way, Caring 4 Kids and others to create a countywide program to address childhood hunger.
On April 16 Three Square began providing 10 pilot schools with weekly deliveries of nutritious, nonperishable, kid-friendly food that is discreetly placed in children’s backpacks before they leave for the weekend to ensure that they can eat while not in school. Three Square will expand this program to all schools in the fall. At the same time, Three Square continues to work with community leaders to address childhood hunger beyond the regular school year — during holiday periods, track breaks and the summer.
Thank you for shining some light on this pervasive and insidious community challenge. I invite your readers to join with us and support us however they can.
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