More than 100 Southwest Gas employee volunteers and their families spent Saturday at Three Square Food Bank packing 1,475 bags of food weighing a combined 16,400 pounds, teaming up with the Vegas Golden Knights in a hands-on push against hunger in the Las Vegas Valley. The volunteers sorted donated food, packed produce and grocery items, and organized backpack meals bound for families across the region.
The gathering, reported by KLAS 8 News Now, paired more than 100 Southwest Gas employees and their families with the Vegas Golden Knights, the utility company’s official natural gas partner. Chance, the team’s mascot, and members of the Vegas Vivas also showed up to help the volunteers work through the day’s haul of food.
A Partnership With Deep Roots
The event was organized under Southwest Gas’ BLUE — Building Loves Up Everywhere — program, which encourages employees to volunteer their time with local nonprofits and uplift their communities, according to the station’s report. It’s not a one-off commitment: since 2016, the Southwest Gas Foundation has donated more than $90,000 to Three Square Food Bank, and company employees have separately given over $686,000 through FUEL for LIFE, the company’s employee workplace giving program.
Beth Martino, president and CEO of Three Square Food Bank, said she was grateful for the organizations’ service and their shared commitment to a hunger-free community, adding that Southwest Gas and its foundation have long supported the food bank’s mission to end hunger in Southern Nevada. Southwest Gas President and CEO Justin Brown said the company works with the Golden Knights and Three Square to support people facing hunger year-round, noting that Three Square helps families, seniors and others throughout local communities.
A Growing Need Across Southern Nevada
The volunteer effort landed against a backdrop of worsening hunger numbers across the region. Feeding America’s 2026 Map the Meal Gap study estimated that roughly 397,750 people — 16.6% of Southern Nevada’s population — were food insecure, according to FOX5 Vegas. That figure marked an increase of more than 20,000 people from the previous year’s estimate, and the rate itself climbed from 15.8% to 16.6% across Three Square’s service area…