From convention leftovers to community meals: Venetian hits $1M toward food-rescue effort

The Venetian hotel‑casino has contributed $1 million to The Just One Project since 2023, marking a milestone in its broader effort to redirect surplus food from the resort’s normal operations to Southern Nevadans facing food insecurity. The achievement was announced during Hunger Action Month, with the resort noting that the Food Rescue Alliance partnership has recovered more than 754,000 pounds of food—equivalent to roughly 628,000 meals. Marcy Miles, the Venetian’s chief marketing officer, said conversations about rescuing food that would otherwise be discarded began around 2020 at the property. “We have the food, but the food gets wasted if it’s not preserved within a period of time,” Miles explained. She added that making surplus food available was only part of the challenge; the food also had to be recovered, preserved, packaged and delivered quickly to reach those in need. Working with The Just One Project allowed the hotel to develop a systematic process for that effort. The Food Rescue Alliance launched as a pilot program in 2023, with the Venetian as its founding partner. The initiative collects surplus food from catered events, conventions, commercial shows and meetings and channels it through The Just One Project and other community organizations. Miles said the Venetian has expanded its involvement as the program has matured, including identifying additional ways to salvage food from its culinary operations. She stressed that the resort evaluates the program less by the dollar amount contributed and more by the volume of food that actually reaches people. “It’s not just dollars that are going out there. It is food that is going into people’s stomachs when they need it,” Miles said. The effort was designed from the outset to extend beyond the Venetian. Miles noted that the Food Rescue Alliance welcomes other businesses and organizations to participate, with The Just One Project coordinating via its network of community partners. “That’s why it’s called the alliance,” Miles said. “Who else can come in?” Brooke Neubauer, CEO and founder of The Just One Project, praised the Venetian’s contribution. “The Just One Project is grateful for The Venetian Resort Las Vegas’ continued partnership and support,” Neubauer said in a statement. “This milestone represents a meaningful investment in our mission and in the thousands of Southern Nevadans who rely on access to groceries, meals, and essential resources.” The nonprofit’s work with large hotel properties requires close coordination among culinary and banquet teams, food‑safety experts, transportation, packaging and rapid distribution. The model aims to repurpose food that has already been prepared for an event but remains safe and suitable for redistribution, rather than sending it to waste after a conference or gathering concludes. The Venetian’s initiative earned national recognition in 2024 when then‑Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff highlighted the Food Rescue Alliance during a White House briefing on the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities by 2030. The program was one of three examples selected from 141 efforts featured in the briefing. For Miles, the broader objective is to demonstrate that a convention‑heavy market like Las Vegas can devise a repeatable strategy for moving surplus food to those who need it. “We are pioneering ways for other communities to follow us,” Miles said. “There’s a lot of places that produce food similar to we have, and right now, in other places, it’s going to waste.” Other Las Vegas hospitality firms have also begun collaborating with The Just One Project on food rescue. Caesars Entertainment announced a partnership with the nonprofit in May focused on recovering surplus food from its meetings and regular operations. Neubauer said the growth of such alliances is central to her vision for the Food Rescue Alliance, which seeks to build a wider network