Helpful Changes coming to Dayton Food Pantry

Need more time?

New hours as of November 1, 2023:

It is no surprise that one of our biggest challenges is reaching the population that has a working parent(s), or for other reasons, those who cannot visit the pantry during our hours of operation (Tuesday – Thursday, 10am – 4pm) and rely on whatever their paychecks can purchase (typically less healthy food because it is cheaper) or what their neighbors share.  

After much discussion, we have collectively agreed to open the pantry on Tuesdays until 6pm. This will give two extra hours for our neighbors to be able to come to us without feeling rushed to make it before we close or have to ask for an emergency food box. In addition, we will also be open the second Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm (beginning November 14) to allow those additional clients the opportunity to come and get food if needed.  Of course, this does not come without its challenges, but we believe that we can make it work and make Dayton a more successful pantry. 

Golden Groceries

The second program we are looking into is called Golden Groceries. This program specifically targets our senior population. In Nevada, the rates of Senior Hunger is one of the highest in the nation, in the top 10 states for the numbers of seniors facing this reality every day. In our state, 10.7% of our seniors face this each day and many do so without letting anyone know. This program allows seniors the opportunity to come into the pantry at designated times, choosing items without the hassle of having others wait impatiently waiting behind them.

We have decided to use Tuesday mornings as our designated “Senior Shopping Days”, the pantry will be open at 7am to allow those seniors the luxury of shopping, taking the time to read nutrition labels, to ask questions, and to get information regarding resources we can offer them.  

Currently, these changes are being shared via conversations with our neighbors as they come in. I am working on fliers and will have Phil make some social media posts for us as we continue to roll out these two changes. 

I am super excited to be able to reach more of our families and hope these changes will help us serve more of the community that we know needs the extra little bit of help and just can’t get to the pantry during our current operating hours. Our long-term goal is to implement these same changes in Silver Springs and Yerington but will start with Dayton until we are completely up and running smoothly. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Traci Rothman

traci@hcclsc.org