On Thursday, October 22, 2026, a semi-truck loaded with food and other essential supplies, and branded with the JustServe and America250 logo on the outside, came to BradyPLUS, where several volunteers were waiting to unload the truck and take the supplies to nonprofits around the valley. 

This truck marks an important milestone – it is the 100th truck that has come from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Brady since the church began sending food trucks to that location on May 6, 2020 to help with the growing needs of the Covid pandemic. In those 6 years, the trucks have brought in approximately 3.5 million pounds of food for distribution in Southern Nevada.

Joyce Haldeman, Director of the Church’s Metro Public Affairs Council in Southern Nevada, remembers being there for the very first truck.

“There were actually 4 people who came to unload a semi-truck full of food – we didn’t really have an understanding of how big a semi-truck full of food is!” Haldeman said. “Since that time, we’ve really improved the operation.”

Haldeman also shared how much this project has been able to grow. “In the beginning, there were about 6 pantries that we were working with, and now we have over 90 that we are able to deliver food to.”

The 100th truck, delivered on October 22, carried about 40,000 pounds of food. Volunteers broke down large pallets of food for distribution to various food pantries, ranging from very large to very small, according to the needs of the different nonprofits.

Elder Tom Thomas, an Area Seventy for the Church, came to volunteer his time along with many others.

“The volunteers that are all here are a mixture,” Thomas explained. “Some of the people here are 18-21 year old young men and young women from all over the country, some from outside of our country, who are serving as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Part of their mission is community service: they do ten hours or so a week of community service, and this is one of those opportunities for them. The rest of the people here serve as volunteers in our church to help oversee the humanitarian needs of the Las Vegas Valley, and they come from different areas around the valley.”

Once the pallets were broken down and prepared, they were driven in smaller trucks around the valley to multiple nonprofits. One of the recipients from this truck was Helping Hands of Vegas Valley, a nonprofit that helps older adults 60 and older in Southern Nevada.

Marcia Blake, the executive director of Helping Hands of Vegas Valley, shared her thoughts about this momentous occasion.

“We are so excited to be part of this 100th truck celebration,” Blake said. “The milestone gives us the opportunity to provide food to even more adults in our community. We service about 110 older adults every single day with food, and this food allows us to expand that and help even more people. The Church’s support throughout the years has continued to do that and helped us to provide additional food to more older adults in the community.”

Brittany Sheppard, director of case management at Helping Hands of Vegas Valley, was present when the food arrived at the Helping Hands Hub – a location where seniors are able to get food, paper goods, or items like shampoo in the marketplace, as well as participate in other activities for overall wellness and social interaction. The food from the 100th truck was immediately unloaded and shoppers could begin loading it into their carts.

Sheppard explained the deep impact working with seniors has had on her, including an experience where she saw an 85-year old man with tears over a loaf of bread. “It made me realize how much our seniors need the help in this community. The simple things that we think are everyday items can really impact someone’s life.”

“I am so grateful that the church provides these resources to people who need it,” Haldeman said.

The America250 truck is part of a two-fold program from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence and finding an additional opportunity to help people in the community.

Lars Shively, a regional driver for Deseret Transportation with the Welfare and Self Reliance Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, drove the 100th truck to BradyPLUS.

“Each truckload helps about 1400 families,” Shively said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to let our brothers and sisters know that somebody cares about them.”