A major Strip casino operator is partnering with a local nonprofit to fight food insecurity in Southern Nevada.
Caesars Entertainment has launched a new partnership with The Just One Project to expand food rescue operations associated with large-scale meetings and conventions in Las Vegas by donating excess prepared meals to food-insecure families across the Valley.
The effort formally kicked off with a donation event on May 13 at Caesars Forum, where excess food from a recent conference was collected and redistributed through The Just One Project’s Food Rescue Alliance program. Nearly 2,000 pounds of food was recycled for the one-day event, which amounted to approximately 1,755 meals.
Caesars officials said the initiative builds on years of internal efforts to reduce food waste in banquet and convention operations, but represents a more structured and scalable approach.
“We’ve tried to address what we do with food waste and how we support the community,” said Chris Skelding, vice president of meetings operations for Caesars Entertainment. He said the scale of conventions in Las Vegas creates both a challenge and an opportunity, noting that “you see food just gets thrown away” in typical banquet operations.
Skelding said the goal is to move from ad hoc donations to a system that can be replicated across multiple properties, including Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Horseshoe and others, with the possibility of expanding beyond Las Vegas in the future. He also said the company is looking into how to involve customers earlier in the process, so they can choose to donate food as part of their event planning.
Chef Eric Vaughn, executive director of culinary operations for Las Vegas banquets at Caesars Entertainment, said banquet food production differs from restaurant service because chefs must prepare based on contracted estimates of attendance, often resulting in overruns.
“We’re super passionate about what we’re creating here,” Vaughn said. “And, of course, seeing our hard work go to customers is great, but it’s just as rewarding to see it go to someone in need.”
He said the partnership formalizes and expands practices that have previously been difficult to implement consistently. About eight months ago, he said, Caesars pilot efforts began with The Just One Project that helped demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale recycling operations.
“It feels so good to think of people who wouldn’t have a meal tonight, to have one, and especially one that we put so much love into. Everyone here is on board with (this initiative) in a big way,” Vaughn said, adding that the support extends beyond the kitchen staff to the teams and managers of the house.
For The Just One Project, the partnership represents both a logistical expansion and a major step toward its broader Food Rescue Alliance goals, which focus on building a coordinated network of Strip properties and hospitality partners.
“This has been a journey of over a year,” said Brooke Neubauer, CEO and founder of The Just One Project. She said the onboarding of Caesars is an important milestone because of the scale of food available through convention operations and the quality of meals being recycled.
Neubauer said Caesars is contributing about a $50,000 investment to support recovery and transportation logistics, in addition to donating excess food already prepared for events.
She described the organization’s approach as a “white glove” service, with an emphasis on food safety, coordination with kitchen teams and same-day redistribution.
The nonprofit typically uses a small on-site recovery team to pack and transport food, with additional volunteers at headquarters handling sorting and distribution. Neubauer said about six team members were on hand for the Caesars Forum event, with additional volunteers waiting to help unload and repackage meals for immediate distribution.
“We have families waiting for us at HQ,” she said. “This food will be in the refrigerator within three hours.”
Neubauer said the success of the program will ultimately be measured by expansion.
“Success is other people joining us,” she said, adding that the long-term goal is to see similar programs adopted across more Las Vegas hotel properties.
The initiative also includes employee engagement through Caesars’ HERO volunteer network, which allows staff to participate in fundraising, food packaging and other community-based efforts.
Both Caesars and The Just One Project said the partnership is designed not only to reduce waste, but also to strengthen coordination between hospitality operations and existing nonprofit food distribution systems that already serve the region’s most vulnerable residents.
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
