Las Vegas City Council honors nonprofit that helped feed locals when SNAP benefits paused

In just two weeks last month, when Nevada’s food stamps benefits were paused due to the federal government shutdown, a local nonprofit helped feed about 65,000 people, enough to fill Allegiant Stadium.

The need for food for insecure Las Vegas Valley residents during those 16 days was so seismic that The Just One Project handed out as much food as it normally does in three months, according to founder and CEO Brooke Neubauer.

In vehicles and on foot, people formed long lines at the organization’s North Decatur Boulevard headquarters. They left with boxes and bags of groceries.

The interruption of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits “brought a lot of attention to where people could get supportive services, and it really was a great opportunity to introduce people that may not have known where to get support,” Neubauer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Nevada’s SNAP benefits help feed about half-a-million residents at a monthly cost to the federal government of about $90 million.

During the shutdown in November, the state funneled tens of millions of dollars into two mammoth food banks that distribute food to pantries. The government eventually reopened, and benefits were restored.

‘Citizen of the Month’ recognition

Citing the nonprofit’s November efforts — and its work in social services circles year round — the city of Las Vegas awarded the organization its “Citizen of the Month” honors Wednesday, proclaiming it “The Just One Project Day.”

“Through their active and dedicated involvement, they help transform neighborhoods into thriving, connected communities,” Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong said at the City Hall recognition.

She said she teared up recalling how the nonprofit had stepped up to feed hungry seniors during the pandemic.

Summers-Armstrong was a member of the Nevada Assembly at the time.

“I can remember getting phone calls from seniors who were terrified to leave home,” she said. “And I got The Just One Project on the phone, and they made contactless deliveries to senior citizens throughout my Assembly district at the time, and I’m so moved by that.”

She added: I still see a lot of those seniors today: They’re alive; they are fed, they know that there are resources for them.”

One person can make a difference

Neubauer did not originally set out to lead a mid-size nonprofit when she founded it in 2014 with a brick-and-mortar location staffed by four, which she described as a “baby charity.”

She said the name derives from the sentiment that it only takes one person to make a difference.

Neubauer learned that lesson during a Christmas “angel tree” drive a girlfriend had invited her to participate in.

“It felt so good, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how have I never done this before?’ ” she said. “Then I was thinking, ‘How many other people do I know that aren’t actively involved in giving back?’ ”

The Just One Project employs 70 people at about a half dozen locations, Neubauer said. Its volunteer database has 36,000 names.

To tackle food insecurity, the nonprofit operates under “two basic pillars,” Neubauer said.

It feeds those in need under several programs, including “meals on wheels,” which delivers food to seniors, its pantry and a free grocery store, she said. But its case workers also guide clients through other social services, such as housing, child care and job training.

“If we don’t have a plan to help them with long-term self-sustainability,” Neubauer said, “we are just providing free food for the rest of our days and just putting a band aid on that free food system, and that’s not sustainable.”

The nonprofit is funded by donors and government grants. It stocks its grocery store while the Three Square food bank supplies the pantry.

“It is the food that you and I shop for at the end of the day,” she said. “It is well rounded, it is nutritional. It is intentional, it is thoughtful. It’s dairy, it’s animal protein, it’s colorful produce.”

Neubauer has concerns similar to other nonprofits: funding and declining civil engagement.

“Things are just changing,” she said. “And so I just want people to know that if they’ve got kids, let’s get them involved in charity so they know what’s going on.”

Neubauer likened her nonprofit to a “sphere” that protects people’s dignity.

“We exist to be that beacon of light and hope for our neighbors that need anything,” she said. “So, I just want people to know that we are here, and that we’re ready to serve.”