THREE SQUARE

Three Square opened its doors as Southern Nevada's food bank in 2007. Since then, it has become the backbone organization for the region's emergency food network which serves 340,000 people struggling with hunger in all rural and urban areas of Clark, Nye, Lincoln and Esmeralda counties. Working with hundreds of community partners including non-profits, schools, and faith-based organizations, Three Square has distributed more than 100 million pounds of food to hungry people in just five years. In striving to fulfill its mission “to provide wholesome food to hungry people, while passionately pursuing a hunger-free community," Three Square has become the fastest-growing food bank in the country, and one of the most productive.

However, as Southern Nevada's economic recovery lags behind the rest of the country, and the demand for emergency food assistance continues to rise, Three Square now faces the challenge of transitioning from a start-up food bank to a sustaining food resource with strategic, measured annual growth. Meeting the challenge will require a combination of efficiency, ingenuity and investment to ensure that Three Square continues to reach as many hungry people as possible, with fewer available resources.

Nutritious food is the most basic of human needs, and Three Square believes that no one in our community should go hungry. Ever.

Three Square's 2013-2016 Strategic Plan provides an actionable framework for closing Southern Nevada's meal gap by focusing on three strategic pillars:

1. Food Access and Distribution
Three Square will increase the quality and quantity of wholesome food consistently available to Southern Nevadans in need, regardless of their location or circumstances.

2. Sustainability
Three Square will serve the community as long as there is a need, by guaranteeing that there are sufficient financial resources for ongoing operations.

3. Advocacy and Community Engagement
Three Square is one of the few food banks that invests in advocacy and research, activities we will continue in order to give hunger a voice, and a face.

Food Access and Distribution
Three Square will increase the quality and quantity of wholesome food consistently available to everyone in need, regardless of their location or circumstances. The rapidly changing availability of food resources, the growing cost of transportation, and the lack of agriculture in our region pose challenges for Three Square. To overcome these obstacles, Three Square will concentrate its efforts on: Sourcing and Distribution, Agency Partners, Federally Reimbursable Programs, SNAP Outreach and Target Populations

Sustainability
Three Square will serve the community as long as there is a need, and must guarantee that there are sufficient financial resources for ongoing operations. Continual evaluation and evolution of programs will ensure that they remain relevant to Three Square's constituents.
Activities include Program Sustainability, Financial Sustainability and Marketing and Branding.

Advocacy and Community Engagement
Three Square will continue to raise awareness and inspire action in Southern Nevada among elected officials and our community.
Three Square is one of only a handful of food banks who invest in advocacy and research. This investment has already achieved success by positively impacting policy. Moving forward, raising public awareness about hunger and inspiring action will be achieved through: Deepening Collaboration, Being the "Hunger Experts" and Lobbying and Education.

Three Square began distributing food in November 2007. Since that date, Three Square has distributed more than 100 million pounds of food –the equivalent of 87 million meals– through our network of agency and program partners who feed over 100,000 people each month. In that time, the food bank has piloted and mastered several programs that address the needs of children and seniors, and added Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) outreach to increase federal assistance to hungry people in Southern Nevada. Three Square holds the record for the fastest food bank to reach both 10 million and 20 million pounds distributed annually.

As a member of the Feeding America Network, we have access to the programming and technical resources of 205 other food banks throughout the U.S.

The typical path for a start-up nonprofit like Three Square is to use the funding of angel donors, corporations, and foundations to make investments that will allow the organization to thrive. One such investment is the resources needed to acquire thousands of new smaller donors, whose gifts over time replace the funding of the original large donors. For Three Square, the startup funding did what it was intended to do. Thanks to our founding funders, we are debt-free and have two buildings, nineteen trucks, a 5,000 square-foot kitchen, and nearly 29,000 donors of whom more than 13,000 have been active over the past 12 months. This allows us to feed 100,000 people each month.

Of course, we don't do this alone. We rely on our network of over 600 Program Partners in Southern Nevada, which include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, after-school programs, senior citizens and more. Our Program Partners receive food from Three Square and distribute it to Southern Nevadans in need through their pantry and on-site meal programs.

Three Square is Southern Nevada's only food bank providing food assistance to the residents of Lincoln, Nye, Esmeralda and Clark Counties. Three Square's mission is to provide wholesome food to hungry people, while passionately pursuing a hunger-free community. We combine food banking (warehousing canned and boxed goods), food rescue (obtaining surplus or unused meats, bread, dairy and produce from hospitality and grocery outlets), and ready-to-eat meals to be the most complete food solution for Southern Nevada.

Currently, over 340,000 people in Southern Nevada are in need of food assistance, and Three Square reaches 100,000 of them each month. There is clearly room for improvement. The strategies and targets in the current three-year strategic plan represent aggressive growth to eliminate hunger.

We currently work with more than 600 Program Partners - which includes non-profit and faith-based organizations, schools, and after school and summer feeding sites – in our community to reach struggling individuals and families at risk of hunger. In 2012, we distributed more than 24.5 million pounds of food, the equivalent of 18.8 million meals through our Program Partners. In 2013, we're on target to distribute more than 27 million pounds of food, 20.7 million meals.

Many have joined our fight to end hunger, including the gaming industry, local businesses, non-profit agencies, food distributors, higher education institutions, the Clark County School District, government entities, the media, and thousands of volunteers and donors. Only with continued interest in eliminating hunger will Three Square continue on its path to reach its goals.