The arrival of 110-degree temperatures is a harsh annual reality during the summer months in Phoenix.
The thermometer is moving toward that threshold, and with a week of deadly heat forecast, St Mary’s Food Bank is seeking water donations for those exposed to the blazing sun.
The National Weather Service predicts high temperatures between 110 and 117 starting this weekend. And there may be little relief with nighttime lows hovering around 90.
Water donations are needed to help people without a climate-controlled space, said Jerry Brown with St. Mary’s Food Bank.
“Especially the homeless in our population. If you can’t go from an air-conditioned home, to an air-conditioned car, to an air-conditioned office — you don’t have those abilities — water becomes not only a necessity, but life-saving,” he said.
St. Mary’s has drop-off locations in Phoenix and Surprise.
Brown said the food bank can also turn a $10 donation into three cases of water.
“If you’re picking up a case or two for your family, maybe pick up another case for a family that needs it,” he said.
Donated water also goes to people who can’t afford enough electricity to stay cool, and the need for donated bottles skyrockets at all food banks when the 110s arrive, Brown said.
