ARIZONA NEWS
Mesa allocates $5M of federal funding to address food insecurity
PHOENIX — Mesa earmarked $5 million of federal funding to address food insecurity over the next three years, the city announced Tuesday.
Under an agreement approved by the Mesa City Council, the East Valley suburb allocated American Rescue Plan Act funds to support United Food Bank.
“We know from our partnership with United Food Bank during the height of the pandemic that food insecurity is a challenge facing many Mesa residents,” Mayor John Giles said in a press release.
“That’s why this new agreement, made possible through ARPA funds, will benefit many families and individuals still needing help.”
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mesa partnered with United Food Bank on a program that served more than 4.25 million pounds of food to over 66,000 households from March to December 2020.
The new allocation will help the charitable organization restructure its facilities and design new programs.
“This funding will allow us to sustain and improve the delivery of our critical services while we redevelop our new facility to better serve the current and future needs of our community,” Mike Suriano, United Food Bank interim president and CEO, said in the release.
United Food Bank serves the East Valley as well as Gila, Pinal and southern Apache and Navajo counties. Every dollar donated to the group helps provide five meals.
