As a community that heavily relies on tourism, hospitality, and commerce, the financial devastation derived from COVID-19 has hit local families and small businesses particularly hard.

Fortunately for Tahoe-Truckee residents, the region boasts resources for those in need and those looking to help out.

FOOD ASSISTANCE

---

---

Sierra Senior Services, the Truckee-based nonprofit that hosts the “Meals on Wheels” delivery service for elderly people, relaxed its qualifications to accept applications from North Lake Tahoe residents ages 60-plus to have lunch delivered to them during COVID-19 times. For more information about how to sign up or contribute to the cause, visit http://www.sierraseniors.org.

The Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe now provides grab-and-go and take-and-bake style meals for not only North Lake Tahoe kids but the rest of their families as well. Dinners are distributed Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4-5:30 p.m. at the clubhouse in Kings Beach, the Incline Elementary School in Incline Village, and the Truckee Elementary School in Truckee. For more information, visit http://www.bgcnlt.org.

---

---

Local restauranteurs Rachel Graf and Danny McCabe transformed their kitchens into the Sierra Relief Kitchen, cooking and distributing high-end comfort meals to those in need in the Truckee and North Lake Tahoe area. Meal assistance is available via curbside pickup at The Station on 10130 West River St. in Truckee on Thursdays and Saturdays from 4-5:30 p.m., and the First Baptist Church in Tahoe City is helping out with deliveries. To sign up for meal assistance or to help deliver, visit http://www.sierrareliefkitchen.com.

The Tahoe Food Hub is donating produce to laid-off food and beverage employees through its Giving Box program. According to its website, local restaurants helped grow the Tahoe Food Hub when it was created in 2013 so it wants to give back to the industry that gave so much to them. Local Tahoe real estate company the Elder Group is also matching donations 100% up to $3,000 into this program when individual givers mention “Elder Group Matching Grant” as well as an anonymous donor who is matching donations 100% up to $5,000. Visit http://www.tahoefoodhub.org for info.

The Sierra Community House is a conglomerate of several longstanding nonprofits that not only help families with hunger relief, but they also provide crisis intervention, family support, mediation, and legal services for North Lake Tahoe/Truckee families. To request assistance or get involved, visit sierracommunityhouse.org.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The Sierra Business Council recently launched the Resilience Fund — a grassroots loan platform/community effort designed to crowdsource monies from Truckee/North Lake Tahoe residents and redistribute them to businesses that need immediate financial assistance within boundaries of the Truckee Tahoe Airport District (ranging from Hobart Mills to Tahoma and Floriston to Cisco Grove). To request assistance, donate, or volunteer, visit www.resiliencefund.org.

The Town of Truckee is also assisting its residents with monthly rental payments which range from $246-$2,000. To qualify, people need to have lived in Truckee for at least 10 years, have been with their most recent employer for the last five years, and have suffered from significantly reduced hours or laid off due to COVID-19. Applications are only accepted via email through housing@townoftruckee.com and are processed on a first-come first-serve basis until funding is exhausted through the Town of Truckee Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

The Sierra Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has compiled a list of resources that help small businesses in Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, and El Dorado counties going through financial hardships. Businesses can connect with attorneys and attend live town hall meetings via Zoom, read about the CARES Act, view the guidance on restaurant reopenings, and download the COVID-19 Small Business Survival Guide at http://www.sierrasbdc.com/covid-19.

The Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation released a COVID-19 emergency response fund that continues its mission of helping local families with stability, people find housing, and invest in projects that have a significant social and environmental impact. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the TTFD provides resources on unemployment insurance, hunger relief, the Emergency Respite Day Center, and more at https://www.ttcf.net/

The Emergency Relief-Tahoe/Truckee COVID-19 Facebook page was launched in conjunction with Tahoe Luxury Properties and Truckee Tahoe People 501c (3) to collect donations to be used to buy family meals to distribute through the Boys & Girls Club. To see what they’re up to and what restaurants have partnered with them, visit http://www.facebook.com/TahoeTruckeeRelief or make a donation through truckeetahoepeople.org.

Kayla Anderson is a reporter for the Tahoe Daily Tribune, as sister publication of the Sierra Sun based in South Lake Tahoe.