St. Vincent's Dining Room celebrates 60 years of serving Reno's most vulnerable
Kristin Oh
Inside a kitchen full of donated equipment and food, St. Vincent's Dining Room volunteers and staff prepare hundreds of hot lunches for Reno's most vulnerable community.
"Anybody is welcome to come in here at any time. There is no requirement to come in here. If somebody wants a meal, just show up," said Kim Vandenhazel, executive chef of St. Vincent's Dining Room.
For 60 years, they have served Reno's homeless community and ensured that no one leaves hungry.
If they run out of hot meals to serve, Vandenhazel is more than willing to heat up a pre-made meal or make a sandwich.
As Reno's original soup kitchen, St. Vincent's Dining Room has offered free lunches to those who are experiencing homelessness or are struggling to make ends meet since 1961.
Many of the dining room clients, like Matthew McClendon, line up every day for a hot meal.
McClendon said he comes to the dining room because he knows it's a place where he can get food. He added that he has also become friendly with the staff there.
According to an April 27, 1961 article in the Reno Evening Gazette, St. Vincent's Dining Room then served about 130 individuals a day, seven days a week.
Decades later, Vandenhazel said that they have served up to 550 individuals a day.
"When you see the old black and white photos of people who were hit during times of the Great Depression or during World War II or during times like COVID-19, there is such a tremendous amount of need," said Marie Baxter, CEO of Catholic Charities. "That St. Vincent Dining Room is there for you every single day, seven days a week with a hot meal.
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St. Vincent's History
The following timeline is based on archived articles from the Reno Gazette Journal.
April 1961: The Catholic Welfare Bureau opens St. Vincent's Dining Room at 205 E. Second Street.
November 1961: The Nugget provides meals and personnel to assist for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Nugget has been assisting local homeless service providers since 1955.
November 1975: Rev. Thomas Wright, the director of the dining room, was raising money to build a new dining center after he lost the lease on the building.
February 1976: The Reno City Council voted against Wright's appeal to build a new dining room near Ralston Street and Third Street. Nearby property owners said that the dining room would jeopardize and detract from their properties.
January 1977: St. Vincent's wrote a classified ad in the Reno Evening Journal thanking residents for donating to the organization while their new building is under construction.
November 1978: St. Vincent's Dining Room hosts Thanksgiving dinner at 505 W. Third Street.
August 1998: Reno City Council and local businesses want to move St. Vincent's Dining Room and Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission from Third Street to Fourth Street.
June 1999: Business owners at the Reno-Sparks Corridor Business District want the dining center to serve a maximum of 50 individuals a day. St. Vincent's declined to move if they cannot serve the nearly 400 people who use their services every day.
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August 1999: Reno City officials continue negotiating with Catholic Charities to move St. Vincent's Dining Room to an old building on Fourth Street. This jeopardized a settlement the city made with three downtown casinos that wanted to relocate the homeless service centers away from downtown.
February 2003: The City of Reno and St. Vincent's Dining Room conflict about location continues.
November 2005: The Community Assistant Center, located on Record Street, is set to open up in Reno. St. Vincent's Dining Room is included in their $7.4 million Phase 1 plan.
November 2007: St. Vincent's Dining Room hosts Thanksgiving dinner at a new location on 325 Valley Road, which is where they are today.
November 2016: St. Vincent's Dining Room estimates that they served approximately 1,200 individuals for Thanksgiving.
November 2017: Ray Trevino, the dining room director, dies at 74. He served at St. Vincent's Dining Room for 25 years.
March 2021: St. Vincent's Dining Room is considered an essential business and remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic. They no longer allow people inside the buildings. They transitioned to grab-and-go meals.
Kristin Oh is a public safety reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. She can be reached at koh@rgj.com or at 775-420-1285. Please help support her work by subscribing.