Food Bank, other charities’ funds cut

Monday, Oct. 28, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Bessie Braggs laughs when she tells people her official title is executive director of the Community Food Bank.

She is proud of the work she does, but the title doesn't tell the whole story. One day last week, the nonprofit organization's boss drove the company truck to pick up a food donation. On another day, she was operating a forklift.

But when Braggs is doing the administrative work normally associated with an executive director's post, that is no joke. Especially when she learned last week that her organization's largest federal money source once again cut back on the availability of funds.

"We're going to have to make more adjustments to survive," said Braggs, whose staff has been cut from 15 full-time employees to eight in recent years.

"Each of us now does two or three jobs so we can continue to meet the growing demand of finding food to feed the poor."

The Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, established in 1983 to financially assist agencies that help the poor, recently announced it is giving Clark County $394,231 for the coming year.

That figure is down $38,000 from 1995-96 and down $88,553 from 1994-95. The 1996-97 allocation for all of Nevada is $515,130, including the lion's share for Clark County.

"Every organization that applies this year is just going to have to expect a little less," said Jane Jensen, vice president of community services for the United Way of Southern Nevada and administrator of the Emergency Food and Shelter allocation to Clark County.

"But we're fortunate in that our local groups really know how to stretch a dollar."

Jensen said local organizations will make their presentations before the United Way board on Nov. 15. The board's recommendations then will go to a federal review panel. The recipients are expected to be notified by Nov. 21.

Last year, the Community Food Bank got $71,787, the largest chunk of the funds.

"Since then, we have had a 25 percent increase in the demand for food," Braggs said. "It's going to be rough because the donations to Second Harvest (the food bank's primary private sector fund-raiser) are down 13 percent.

"All of us charities are feeling the crunch."

Braggs said one thing in her group's favor is that Community Food Bank, unlike other organizations, concentrates on just one area of the ever-burgeoning homeless and poverty dilemma.

"We don't have a shelter or a lot of programs that need funding -- we deal in food," she said.

Fortunately for the food bank, the United Way, in establishing its criteria for doling out the federal money, has listed food as its No. 1 priority, followed by shelters, rent assistance and utility assistance respectively.

"The money given through this program is designed for prevention of homelessness as much as it is for homeless assistance," said Jenny Palazio, spokeswoman for the Emergency Food and Shelter program in Alexandria, Va.

"Many of the community programs are designed to give priority to food and rent and utility supplements."

Jensen said it is not uncommon for organizations to use the federal funds to pay the rent for a poor person who gets a job but needs help until his first paycheck arrives. Often, that money is the difference between the recipient and his family sleeping in an apartment or in their car, she said.

In its 14-year history, the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board, chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and funded by Congress, has awarded $1.5 billion to organizations in 50 states.

Also receiving money each year are the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, North Marianas, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and trust territories.

This year, the top three recipients of the $100 million in allocated funds were California ($16.8 million), Texas ($8.2 million) and New York ($7.5 million).

Nevada's other neighbors received varying sums, including Arizona with $1.5 million, Idaho with $365,023, Oregon with $1.2 million and Utah with $416,644.

"These funds will reach more than 10,000 nonprofit and local government agencies," FEMA Director James Lee Witt said in a news release. "With a minimum of paperwork and bureaucracy, the Emergency Food and Shelter program is an example of how federal government can help communities help themselves."

Members of the EFS board include the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, Council of Jewish Federations, National Council of Churches, the Salvation Army and United Way of America.

Last year, in Southern Nevada, Catholic Charities received the second largest award of $61,000, followed by the Las Vegas chapter of the Salvation Army with $59,000.

"The news about less available funds is just bad timing," said Salvation Army spokesman Sumner Dodge. "We just had the busiest September on record for sheltering homeless men and feeding homeless people.

"Through the first nine months, our Family Services (department) has helped more people than we did all of last year."

The 4,056 nights of lodging provided by the Salvation Army last month shattered the previous September record of 1,975 nights set in 1993. The 18,760 meals served broke the old September mark of 16,184 set in 1994.

"Facing those statistics and a very busy holiday season ahead, organizations like ours need every dollar we can get," Dodge said.

Other local organizations and agencies to receive money from the federal program last year were Aid for AIDS of Nevada, Clark County Social Services, Colorado River Food Bank of Laughlin, EOB Project Home, Giving Life Ministries of Henderson, Help of Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Indian Center, Las Vegas Rescue Mission, Lutheran Social Ministry of the Southwest, Parson's Place, the Salvation Army of Henderson, Shade Tree Shelter, United Methodist Social Ministry and the Women's Development Center.