LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The produce and dairy products many of us take for granted at our neighborhood grocery stores, are actually unavailable to many people across the Las Vegas Valley.
They live in identified “food deserts” – or areas where location, price, or a combination of the two, prevent residents from getting healthy food options.
The Just One Project on Thursday bringing a new program to residents of an apartment complex on Boulder Highway.
“Well, this location is actually one of 144 food deserts that exist in the Las Vegas area and that was based on the research that we did here locally,” Kelly Simonson, the president of UnitedHealthcare Health Plan of Nevada Medicaid tells Fox5.
Enter “Groceries on the Go” which brings fresh good to those who need it most.
“So groceries on the go is really about the void of a food desert thanks to HPN, health plan of Nevada, we actually bring the grocery store into the community which is amazing because it allows people to have access to fresh incredible fruits and vegetables and dairy that you and I would buy at the store,” says Brooke Neubauer, founder and CEO of The Just One Project.
Here’s how it works: for about an hour and a half residents get to “shop” at the Groceries on the Go mobile marketplace.
The cost?
Just a small donation – or free, for those who cannot afford to contribute.
“It’s very expensive to access food and I can’t even get food at the food bank because um I don’t have a Nevada ID I have a California ID and I can’t even get that,” says resident Nicolette Champagne.
“It’s all about health.. we know in order for people to really achieve their optimal health they really need to have access to affordable nutritious food and that’s the short term and long term goal,” says Simonson.
“The short term benefit is people have access right now to food which is incredibly important because food is not a luxury it is a basic need that everybody should have access too. And the long term to this project is we are combating food insecurity and we have created and organized a solution for food insecurity here in Southern Nevada.”
The Just One Project says it provides an estimated 600,000 pounds of groceries to in-need families across the Valley every month.
To learn more about getting assistance, lending a hand, or making a donation, just visit the Just One Project’s website.
Copyright 2023 KVVU. All rights reserved.
