The Las Vegas Raiders are helping to address an issue that plagues Clark County and America – food insecurity.
According to a study conducted by Three Square, 12 percent of people in Southern Nevada aren't able to secure enough food for themselves and their families for extended periods of time throughout the year.
"Food is not necessarily accessible for all communities," said Brooke Neubauer, founder and CEO of The Just One Project in Las Vegas. "There are many communities in Southern Nevada that do not have groceries or easily accessible groceries stores. And some communities that do have groceries stores, we can see up to 17 percent of the residents do not have transportation."
Founded in 2014, The Just One Project has a team of volunteers of all ages who pack canned goods, produce and non-perishable items at a distribution center near the Historic Westside of Las Vegas to those in need every weekday morning.
Raiders alumni Leo Gray and Keith Moody, as well as staff members, helped pack meals on Tuesday morning and hand them out to families who came in dozens. With 1990s alternative rock and grunge blasting on the speakers throughout the building, all the volunteers in attendance were in great spirits.
High school student Taziyae Jones-Cook was in the leadoff position for the packing assembly line and helped the Raiders get up to speed on packing the meals. She described giving back to her Las Vegas community as "humbling," and teaming up with the Silver and Black as a "really cool" experience.
"This is a new experience for me, I've never done this before," Jones-Cook said of volunteering with the Raiders. "It's a very nice opportunity and I'm grateful to be here. I think it's nice that they took their time out of the day to come here and help."
In addition to packing and distributing boxes, Gray and Moody offered words of encouragement to community members while members of the Raiders staff handed out Silver and Black items.
"We're definitely aware of the less fortunate people in the community and anything we can do to give back is a huge thing for us," Gray said. "The Raiders have been real active in giving back to the community. To be able to go out there and give something back means a lot to us and it means a lot to the community."
