At Western Hills High School and the surrounding Las Vegas Trail neighborhood, food insecurity isn’t a new challenge.

“I always say, ‘Our kids didn’t start out full.’ So, in Las Vegas Trail, there’s been a lot of need for a long time,” said Paige Charbonnet, executive director of LVTRise, an organization dedicated to improving the area.

It’s why Patty Pressley helped start Cougar Corner, the food pantry at Western Hills High that also supplies hygiene products and clothing.

“The coaches told me that the kids were so thin and that they really couldn’t compete because they couldn’t sustain, they didn’t have enough energy,” Pressley said.

Now in its ninth school year, the pantry welcomes students three days a week, supplies meals for students in extracurriculars, and offers take-home bags

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