St. Mary’s Food Bank preparing for wave of 900,000 Arizonans who might lose SNAP benefits

PHOENIX – With hundreds of thousands of Arizonans facing the possibility of losing federal nutritional assistance in a few days, St. Mary’s Food Bank is hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.

“Like when you prepare for a storm, you board up the house, you make plans, but you hope that storm doesn’t come. That’s what we hope. We hope that the plans that we’re putting in place actually don’t need to go into progress next week,” Milt Liu, president and CEO of the Phoenix-based nonprofit organization, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos on Monday.

How many Arizonans receive SNAP benefits?

The St. Mary’s Food Bank network, which includes over 700 partner organizations across the state, has been serving an average of about 50,000 visitors each week, Liu said.

St. Mary’s operates two neighborhood food centers in the Valley, one at 3131 W. Thomas Road in Phoenix and the other at 13050 W. Elm St. in Surprise.

Nearly 900,000 Arizonans – 12% of the state’s population – receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, with about 40% of the federal program’s funding in the state going toward feeding children.

“These are real people. These are our neighbors,” Liu said.

The Trump administration said funding for SNAP will run out Nov. 1 — this Saturday — if the ongoing government shutdown isn’t resolved.

As a result, about $155 million a month that goes toward buying food in Arizona might be lost, more than food banks could cover, Liu explained.

“We can help around the edges, and we’re prepared to do that,” he said. “We have set aside more money to purchase food, to have more food available.”

St. Mary’s Food Bank was already planning for busy November

The timing is particularly bad with the holiday season approaching.

“In November, we do a number of Thanksgiving meal distributions. … We will be distributing over 20,000 Thanksgiving meals in Phoenix and up in northern Arizona as well, throughout the Navajo Nation. … We’re planning for that, and now we need to plan on top of that for whatever might happen Nov. 1,” Liu said.

However, as the world’s first food bank, St. Mary’s accumulated plenty of experience dealing with adverse conditions since its founding in 1967.

“We’re proud to say we’ve never turned anyone away, and our plan is to continue that promise,” Liu said.

Meanwhile, HonorHealth’s Desert Mission Food Bank in Phoenix put out a call for volunteers after experiencing record demand on Monday.

“This is the largest number of households we’ve ever seen,” Mike Morgan, Desert Mission director of operations, said in a press release Tuesday. “Our team and volunteers have gone above and beyond, but we need more hands to keep up with the growing demand.”

If you are dealing with food insecurity or want to help those who are, the Arizona Food Bank Network website has a list of available resources, including a database of food banks, pantries and soup kitchens that serve people in need and accept donations. Additionally, donations can be made by texting “FOOD” to 620620.

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