Christy Lattin
Servers at the Fallon Daily Bread nonprofit saw a huge increase in the number of meals they served a couple of weeks ago and are bracing to see if the trend continues. The Fallon Daily Bread is one of the ministries housed at the Wolf Center, tucked behind the Methodist church.
Dawn Blundell, pastor at Epworth United Methodist Church and director at The Wolf Center Community Services, said they saw a 75% increase in the number of sack lunches provided the last week in July, and a 20% increase in the number of dinners served.
“That week we saw a massive uptick in lunches particularly,” Blundell said, adding they also saw a surge in the number of people utilizing the food pantry.
The Fallon Daily Bread offers Monday and Thursday night dinners, Wednesday and Saturday sack lunches, and a food pantry on Monday. Blundell said they perform a head count for every dinner consumed on site, they count the to-go dinners, and track the number of sack lunches provided each week. She said the food pantry operation is stricter at tracking its numbers because of the reporting guidelines needed for grants administered through the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.
“The number of people served each week comes and goes. The next week, the numbers evened back out. We’re just watching to see if it’s a trend or a blip,” Blundell said.
The Wolf Center applied for a small business development grant last spring and is awaiting word on when — and if — it will be granted. Blundell said the grant, totaling $50,000, would be used to purchase a new walk-in refrigerator-freezer unit, durable shelving, and lockable storage containers. She has been looking for ways to partner with local farmers to offer local produce in the food pantry boxes, but she needs a place to store the fresh produce for several days until it’s needed. The Wolf Center also could use the shelving to store homemade items like pickles, jams, and jellies donated by independent food producers.
In an online post, volunteers said they were serving more than double the number of sack lunches as last year. Each lunch includes two meat sandwiches, a bag of chips, an orange, cookies, and water. The sack also includes two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that can be eaten later. Organizers estimated they’re making 240 more sandwiches a week this year compared to last year.
Blundell said providing the unexpected additional meals has strained the Wolf Center’s budget, but she is hopeful her funding continues.
“The budget is always really tight,” Blundell said. “We run on all private donations, no money from grants or other sources, just generous people in Fallon.”
Along with providing food for hungry souls, the Wolf Center also provides a safe place for people to take showers, do laundry, and meet with social workers and community health workers.
The Wolf Center accepts monetary donations as well as donations of nonperishable food for the food pantry, and items for the sack lunch ministry (some of which are perishable). Food donations can be dropped off Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wolf Center, 457 Esmeralda St. Monetary donations can be made using the QR code featured on the Wolf Center Community Services page on Facebook.
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