Hungry holidays? 1 in 7 Arizona homes suffer from food anxiety, expert says

PHOENIX — The holiday season for Arizonans typically means family, friends and, of course, food.

But some Arizona families could go without food for the holidays.

Rev. David Beckmann with the non-profit organization Bread of the World said Arizona is the 14th-hungriest state in the nation, with one in seven households suffering from food anxiety.

Food anxiety means that families could run out of food or money for food before the end of the month, even if they receive government support.

In addition, Beckmann said a quarter of Arizona kids live in poverty.

He said one of the ways to combat this issue — not only in Arizona, but across the nation — is by maintaining federal programs, like Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Beckmann said these programs have allowed Americans to be better off today versus decades ago, but added that maintaining them is important, especially in the wake of tax reform discussions.

KTAR News’ Jeremy Foster contributed to this report. 

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