St. Mary’s delivers 2,000 food boxes to Navajo Nation in 1 day

PHOENIX — The Navajo Nation on Tuesday received more than 2,000 food boxes from Arizona’s St. Mary’s Food Bank that was delivered to the Tuba City, Arizona, community.

It was the Phoenix-based food bank’s largest single mobile pantry delivery ever as four tractor-trailer trucks carried nearly 100,000 pounds of food to the area about an hour north of Flagstaff. Prior to opening, tribal officials estimated the line to receive food was five miles long.

Local and surrounding residents remained in their car and had the food boxes placed in their trunk or truck bed by St. Mary’s staffers wearing personal protective equipment to avoid the person-to-person contact that could spread the coronavirus.

The Navajo Nation, which spans across New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, reported 83 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, bringing the total to 921 with 38 confirmed deaths related to the coronavirus. Navajo Nation communities in Arizona make up most of the cases with 598 positive tests across Navajo County, Apache County and Coconino County.

“The coronavirus pandemic is affecting thousands of our Navajo people in profound ways, including the loss of work, lack of medical care, and the need for food and household supplies,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a press release.

The Navajo Nation enacted a 57-hour curfew this past weekend to curb the virus and on Thursday morning extended the weekend curfews for the remainder of April.

Daily curfews between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. remain in effect on the Navajo Nation.

In addition to the food boxes delivered by Arizona’s St. Mary’s Food Bank, the Navajo Nation also received more than 9,500 food boxes from the state of New Mexico containing rice, beans, potatoes, watermelons, apples, and onions that will be delivered to elders and high-risk individuals in New Mexico.

“On behalf of the Office of the President and Vice President, we express our appreciation to New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs, and Arizona’s St. Mary’s Food Bank for working closely with the Navajo Nation’s leadership and local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nez said in the release.

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