Innocent victims of the recession

December 20, 2010
By J. Patrick Coolican

Last summer, Courtney Speed, then 18, was living with her mother and three younger siblings in a Ford Taurus in the parking lot of the World’s Largest Gift Shop on Sahara Avenue and the Strip. Courtney’s mother thought that because it was so well-lit, they’d be safe.

Social service agencies referred Courtney to the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, where she found housing and enrolled in the Virtual High School, an online school from which she’ll graduate next year. Courtney’s mother, sister and two brothers got some assistance from HELP Nevada for an apartment, where they’re living rent-free through January. Read more here.

Church helping to fill plates with goodwill

October 27, 2010
By Scott Dickensheets

Looks like a good crowd today. Upward of 100 people are lined up outside in the unseasonably warm October afternoon, but inside Wayne Carrington is the one working up a sweat. It’s a Thursday afternoon, when the food pantry run by Living Faith Assembly hands out the groceries, and it takes an incredible effort to pull it all together. Read more here.

Over 80 restaurants taking part in Restaurant Week Aug. 30-Sept. 5

August 27, 2010

All next week, from Monday through Sunday, Sept. 5, more than 80 of the most popular restaurants in Las Vegas will celebrate the annual Restaurant Week with prix-fixe meals priced at $20.10, $30.10 and $50.10, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting food bank Three Square working to end hunger in Southern Nevada. And new this year: wine pairings for an additional $10.10 at some of the restaurants! Read more here.

Seven Questions with Julie Murray

August 25th, 2010
By Elizabeth Sewell

The president and CEO of Three Square talks about community, philanthropy and the hidden problem of hunger in Las Vegas

In a city where philanthropy isn’t always high on the to-do list, Julie Murray has dedicated her life to helping. She was volunteering even before she graduated from UNLV, and worked at the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation before co-founding the “I Have a Dream” Foundation, which helps at-risk students graduate from high school and pursue higher education. A sobering study conducted by Eric Hilton, son of hotel mogul Conrad Hilton, about hunger in Las Vegas drove Murray to become involved in Three Square. As president and CEO, she is in charge of Southern Nevada’s only food bank, which distributed 17.5 million pounds of food to 270 nonprofit organizations in 2009. Restaurant Week, Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, partners Three Square with area restaurants willing to donate proceeds to help Three Square achieve its mission of eradicating hunger in Las Vegas. Read more here.

Interview with Julie Murray – Three Square

August 24, 2010

Julie Murray of Three Square food bank tells of how her organization was able to convince nearly 100 Las Vegas-area restaurants to partner in Restaurant Week, which kicked off Monday. Listen to the interview here.

Getting food stamps a SNAP

August 17, 2010
By Lynnette Curtis

Vivian Haas has trouble making ends meet on her modest monthly Social Security and pension income. But the 79-year-old retired cocktail waitress never imagined she might qualify for food stamps. Read more here.

Help needed to keep hunger at bay

August 4, 2010
By: Julie A. Murray

Last year, when I was given the opportunity in this space to share my thoughts, hunger was a real and pressing concern in our valley. Today, one year later, hunger is an even bigger issue given the record-high unemployment numbers in our valley and our state. Simply stated, putting food on the table has become increasingly challenging for hundreds of thousands in our community.

Although the Three Square Food Bank and our supporters have made significant strides in addressing hunger in Southern Nevada, erasing the pangs of hunger requires a collaborative and ongoing effort of the entire community. Read more here.

Feeding Children During the Summer

July 6, 2010

Summer food program feeds children when school is out

June 15, 2010
By Laura Emerson

Inside the Three Square kitchens, volunteers pack lunch boxes with lettuce, a pickle, a chicken sandwich and a banana. The assembly line keeps working until the bright orange containers amount to what's needed to feed hungry children the next day.

That's what Three Square Chief Operating Officer John Livingston is worried about -- the future.
Read more here.

Program combats childhood hunger in Las Vegas

June 14, 2010

Three Square compiles enough lunch boxes each day to supply the sites that offer summer food programs to children who otherwise don’t have anything to eat during the months when they aren’t in school. Watch the video here.

Leader fights local hunger pound by pound, day by day

January 10, 2010
By Jennifer Robison

A singular sort of serendipity seems to constantly lead veteran philanthropist Julie Murray precisely where she's needed most.

Consider Murray's early college years, which she spent studying journalism at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Murray took a course that required community service -- something she hadn't given any thought to -- and after just a few hours volunteering with at-risk kids through Children's Behavioral Services on Jones Boulevard, Murray had a new calling. Read more here.

Elaine Wynn gives $1 million to food bank helping children

January 8, 2010
By Lynnette Curtis

Elaine Wynn presented a huge check -- both literally and figuratively -- to Three Square Food Bank on Thursday to help the agency feed hungry children.

The director of Wynn Resorts brought an oversized check prop along to the food bank, where she announced a $1 million donation for its BackPack for Kids program. The program provides weekly bags of food to needy children in the Clark County School District so they have plenty to eat over the weekend. Read more here.

With Hunger in Mind, lender stages Banksgiving

November 30, 2009
By Sara Cureton

Nevada Commerce Bank starts food drive

Far too many valley residents face the prospect of going without this holiday season. Not without gifts, or decorations or a warm fire, but without food. And this bothers employees at Nevada Commerce Bank. Read more here.

Non-profits Desperate for Holiday Help

November 23, 2009
8NewsNow

Donations for Las Vegas non-profit agencies are down for 2009 and the lines outside food banks are longer than ever before.

Dozens of non-profit agencies report donations are down, perhaps because people are trying to save money. Any resources or food left at these agencies are getting stretched thin. Read more here.

Amy Hits the Ice for the Wranglers Food Drive

November 4, 2009
FOX5 News

The Las Vegas Wranglers are hoping fans will turn out to help Three Square raise money to fight hunger. Watch the video here.