On a cold Tuesday afternoon, Wendy Conti walked along the tables filled with boxes full of produce and canned goods. She placed cans and produce into a basket. She goes to the Sierra Community House’s Food Pantry in Truckee at least once a week.
She walked through the pantry with her dog Peanut. They browsed through a selection of breads, sauces and vegetables. Originally from the East Coast, Conti moved to Truckee four years ago. A former special education teacher, health issues forced her out of work, and she soon found herself homeless.

After contacting the state for help, Conti discovered Sierra Community House. The non-profit provided immediate assistance with housing, enabling her to move into a tiny house with Peanut.
“It was very scary, and the Community House was just phenomenal. I showed up hungry, living out of my car, and they immediately just grabbed the bag and filled it full of just wonderful food,” Conti said.
She praised the organization for its non-judgmental approach.
“It is so difficult to self-advocate because you’re basically so ashamed or worried about what people might think of you. Because I have a doctorate in education,” Conti said.
The food pantry is the only one serving North Lake Tahoe. In 2024, Sierra Community House’s Hunger Relief Team distributed more than 300,000 meals, supporting approximately 3,000 community members.
The pantry’s client-choice model, launched last year, has been a success, said Patrick Kratzer, program director for hunger relief. But food distribution is just one aspect of their weekly operations.
“We’re going to distribute food three times a week throughout North Lake Tahoe and Truckee. So that’s Tuesdays here in the pantry. And then Wednesdays we do a pop-up farmers’ market in Kings Beach, where people can walk the line and choose what items they want. And then Thursday, we have a drive-through food distribution in Incline Village,” Kratzer said.
When not distributing food, the team collects donations from local grocery stores.

Kratzer said it’s during winter that they see a large increase in the need for food assistance.
“You might be employed at a ski resort in the winter, and then you’re working maybe at a restaurant in the summer. But in between those jobs, there might be what we call the shoulder season, where folks are going to be unemployed,” he said.
One of their main purposes is making sure people don’t have to choose between a healthy diet and paying bills, Kratzer said.
For community member Love Andreyev, Sierra Community House provides more than food assistance.
She moved from Sacramento to Truckee in 2021 for a low-income housing opportunity. Chronic illness prevents her from working full-time, and she initially struggled with isolation until she found Sierra Community House.
“I started to see how community existed here, and there was a lot of support, and people actually cared and understood that there were huge disparities, and it’s difficult to get by here,” she said.

Andreyev hopes local leaders will consider the sustainability of the area’s tourist-driven economy and its impact on residents.
“I would like to see elected officials in Truckee consider that it’s not sustainable to have a tourist town like this operating the way that it is. It’s time to really take that seriously,” Andreyev said.
But Sierra Community House offers more than food. It also helps with housing support, legal aid, immigration services, and assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual and child abuse.
As she finished gathering her bag of food, Conti said that once she fully recovers from her health issues, she hopes to give back and help the pantry.