Arizona’s largest food bank reports its resources are stretched thin, and the organization may soon start putting fewer items in each food box it distributes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in March cut $1 billion in funding for school lunch and food bank programs.
Federal cuts have left Arizona’s St. Mary’s Food Bank about a million pounds short of food this year, said spokesperson Jerry Brown. Brown said the million-pound shortage is only a small fraction of the 130 million pounds that the food bank distributes annually.
“But it will force us to make some changes,” Brown said. “Our normal emergency food box may have 10 to 12 items in it now. It may have nine to 10 items in it in the future. What we’ll have to do is kind of stretch what we have.”
The shortage comes as the U.S. Senate is weighing a bill that could put many Arizonans at risk of losing food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Brown said that could exacerbate the food bank’s shortages.
“If the Senate bill passes and some people will not be able to qualify for SNAP, we anticipate we will see more people at our door,” Brown said.
Brown said seasonal changes to demand also add to the difficulties.
“It’s kind of hitting us on both ends and will make for a very difficult summer. And summer is the time of the year when we see more people come to the food bank anyway because of kids not receiving free breakfast and free lunch in schools,” Brown said.
Brown said the food bank is in need of volunteers and donations.
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