Desert Springs Community Resource Center

We are a 501(c)(3) organization that provides food and connects people to community resources and services.

Born in 2020, the DSCRC initially started as a project of Desert Spring United Methodist Church (DSUMC), to serve neighbors during the first year of the pandemic. As wide-spread impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic rippled throughout out local economy, every corner of Southern Nevada saw an increase in need and wide variability of needs now years later. Many families that had never utilized social programs found themselves in food pantry lines for the very first time in their lives. DSUMC, having been a trusted neighborhood institution for over 25 years in the area, became inundated with the needs of its own members and neighbors. Once DSUMC began operating drive-thru food distribution events, it became apparent with partners and clients that more services were needed in the often-overlooked presumed affluent area of town where the DSCRC began operating.

Since early 2021, when the program expanded into a permanent food pantry, the DSCRC has been working to grow its programs, expand its outreach to those that may need its services, and continually dispel the assumptions of where need may appear in Southern Nevada. In fact, in the first three quarters of 2023, 65% of families served at the DSCRC live in the City of Las Vegas and 47% of all families served live in a Summerlin zip code. In 2022, the DSCRC received its own IRS 501c3 designation of non-profit tax status and has continued to operate in the DSUMC facilities, which keeps the organization physically close to a committed group of volunteers and provides a safe and inconspicuous location for the provision of services.

One of our core values is listening, which is vital to connecting with and serving our clients. We have learned that those seeking food are also in need of support to navigate other resources and programs, thus the DSCRC expanded to provide additional services including case management with volunteers from Desert Spring UMC. Our dream is to invest in relationships between our church community, our clients, and the many social service agencies throughout southern Nevada to ensure that every family can be self-sustaining. Ultimately, we want to empower our volunteers, donors, and clients to participate fully in public life and use our experiences to make positive change for all.