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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBringing Food to Where People Are That reality shaped one of the organization’s signature programs, Mobile Harvest. Launched in 2008, it\u2019s essentially a farmer\u2019s market on wheels. The truck visits 43 sites across Nevada and California, and distributes enough fresh fruits and vegetables to last a family a week. \u201cPartner food pantries often lacked refrigerated storage, limiting their ability to offer fresh food,\u201d said Wheeler. “Mobile Harvest helps our neighbors and families in these communities have consistent access to fresh fruits and vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listening to Their Neighbors<\/strong> The impact of Produce on Wheels has gone beyond nutrition. One woman, recently widowed and new to Reno, started coming because a neighbor invited her. \u201cShe didn’t think she needed it,\u201d said Wheeler, \u201cbut she didn\u2019t want to say no to her new friend.\u201d Over time, the woman turned every item she received into a discovery. She\u2019d find a new recipe, try something unexpected, then report back to the Produce on Wheels program coordinator. Eventually she admitted, “You put the sparkle back in my life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The success of the Produce on Wheels program underscores the importance of remaining open to feedback. “We don’t want to make assumptions about what our neighbors need,\u201d said Wheeler. \u201cProduce on Wheels is such a tangible example of why it matters to listen to the people you’re serving.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Safety Net Is Strained<\/strong> The all-hands-on-deck emergency distributions during the shutdown clarified the devastating impact of SNAP cutbacks. “We will always do everything we can to be there to serve our community,” said Wheeler. “But we also know those impacts on SNAP are not something we can easily close the gap on. It’s a little like trying to use a bobby pin to stop a dam.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Building for What’s Next<\/strong> FBNN is also expanding their work to address the root causes of hunger. In partnership with nonprofit The Children’s Cabinet, also based in Sparks, they\u2019re building an all-in-one resource center. The center will feature an on-site food pantry and market with case management, workforce development support, and childcare. “It’s a new way to be more deeply involved in changing what it looks like to support someone,” Wheeler said. “Here, neighbors can come to one place and get a large amount of needs met, rather than being given a list of referrals.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing Together<\/strong> You can find the Food Bank of Northern Nevada online at fbnn.org, on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>y LinkedIn<\/a>, or in person at 550 Italy Drive, Sparks, Nevada.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From South Lake Tahoe to the high desert enclaves of Mono and Inyo Counties, communities along the eastern Sierras face […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":53829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"15","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Staff-Klamath-Distribution-1-scaled.jpg","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":53278,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":2560,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":1810,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[272],"class_list":["post-53820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-member-food-bank"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53820"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53832,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53820\/revisions\/53832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong>FBNN’s service area spans 90,000 square miles, and much of it is genuinely rural; communities with just one grocery store, or none at all. “There’s real distance to access groceries,” Wheeler said. “The term \u2018food desert\u2019 can be used in so many ways, but it’s truly a significant issue for the folks we serve.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
When FBNN noticed seniors weren’t showing up to Mobile Harvest events, they asked why. What they learned was straightforward: a week’s worth of produce for a family is simply too much for one person living alone. In response, FBNN created Produce on Wheels to deliver smaller, manageable quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables directly to senior centers and housing complexes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cafoodbanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Produce-on-Wheels-landscape-edited.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/strong>The government shutdown in fall 2025 put that commitment to the test in a new way. When benefits and disbursements were suspended, FBNN organized emergency drive-thru distributions to help fill the gap. \u201cWhat we saw was a more urgent need,\u201d said Wheeler. \u201cSo many people don’t have a significant amount of income to put into their grocery budget outside of SNAP.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>As proposed cuts to federal nutrition programs continue to take shape, FBNN remains committed to showing up. With the help of state funding, they\u2019re building a new northeastern distribution hub in Elko, Nevada. It\u2019s the first of multiple hubs they hope to build to reach food pantries in distant communities more efficiently, that is slated to open in January 2027. “We want to have smaller food distribution hubs stocked and loaded to serve eastern counties directly,\u201d Wheeler said, \u201crather than having the food come to us and then we have to ship it to them.” A second phase in Elko will add a food pantry to serve neighbors in the area directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>As a new CAFB member, FBNN is looking forward to what’s possible \u2014 for the neighbors they serve in Nevada, California, and the broader network they’ve now joined. “Our vision is healthy food for every person, every day,” says Wheeler. “And we’re committed to expanding our work and collaborating on new ways to better serve communities as a whole.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n