4-H collecting donations for veterans’ food bank

The 4-H Southern Nye Community Club is collecting food donations for the VFW Auxiliary Food Bank at the Clyde E. Newman Post #10054 through Dec. 31. The Community Club is part of the 4-H Youth Development Program, which is a program of the University of Nevada, Reno Extension.

Since July, this food drive that began among the club’s membership, family and friends has resulted in the donation of about four car trunk-loads full of canned goods, pasta and other food items.

“We’re amazed at how much our club’s membership has already collected,” said Stormy Ingersoll, 4-H program coordinator. “The Community Club members wanted to do something to help the community and they brainstormed about what they could do during the shutdown. They came up with this since they could socially distance and still contribute.”

Now, the 4-H members are ramping up their efforts and asking the public to get involved by donating nonperishable food items at several collection boxes available around Pahrump. 4-H members will monitor the boxes and collect donations until the end of the year. Canned goods, shelf-stable milk, boxed dinners and boxed pasta are all needed. The food pantry will not accept expired items.

Donation locations include Tractor Supply on state Route 372, Do It Best Hardware on Frontage Road, Hypno Comics on Frontage Road and the Little Free Library outside the 4-H building on East Calvada Boulevard.

The Southern Nye County 4-H program is funded in part by Nye County and hosts a number of clubs for children and teens, including shooting sports, FIRST Tech Challenge robotics, dog training, gardening, creative writing and more. The 4-H Community Club is a student-run, governing body with elected officers who help decide how some of the organization’s funds will be used. It is also an outreach group and, when pandemic restrictions are not in place, provides a social time before their monthly meeting.

For more information about the 4-H Youth Development Program, please contact Stormy Ingersoll or Jamie Domina at 775-727-5532. Those interested in joining may attend a Community Club meeting, currently held via Zoom, by visiting the Southern Nye County 4-H Facebook page.