The chaos surrounding food stamp benefits continues in Arizona even as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history could be nearing an end.
Some Arizonans who rely on SNAP food aid to buy groceries received their funds on Friday. But, then many were blocked after the Supreme Court stepped in and granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to block the court order that made them fully fund the program.
Now, the federal government is telling states that did pay the benefits to “undo” it, and President Trump has said SNAP benefits wouldn’t be paid until the government shutdown ends.
All of the back-and-forth has left the nearly 900,000 Arizonans who rely on food stamps in limbo for weeks. These are low-income Americans — many are disabled, most are in families with children. More than 40% of them are in working families.
That’s all according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The Show wanted to hear how it’s impacting their lives.
So host Lauren Gilger went down to St. Mary’s Food Bank in west Phoenix last week to talk to some of them, and spokesperson Jerry Brown gave her the lay of the land.
Full conversation
LAUREN GILGER: So this is a tightly run operation here?
JERRY BROWN: Yeah, this is. It’s like a NASCAR pit stop. Eight cars roll in every two and a half minutes. We started this during COVID when it was non contact, but we’ve been doing it for four years now because the number of people has just increased since COVID.
We’re seeing more people now than we did during the height of the COVID pandemic. And that was pre SNAP, pre government shutdown. Now we’re seeing another 10 to 15% on top of that.
GILGER: The line of cars waiting to get a box of food wrapped around the block. By the time they make it to the front of the line, they’ve been separated into three lines, waiting to pull up one group at a time and have volunteers fill up their trunks with food.
(TO BROWN) OK, so 1,200 people today?
BROWN: Yeah, at least. You know, I think it was 1,405 on Tuesday that we saw at this location. But across our network, we’re more like 50,000 a week.
GILGER: So, I took my 2 1/2 minutes each to get a sense of who’s coming to the food bank amid this shutdown and why.
(TO PEOPLE IN LINE) Excuse me, sir. Hi, I’m Lauren. I’m with KJZZ News. Mind if I ask you a couple questions? What’s your name, first of all?
RICHARD: Richard ...
GILGER: Could you tell me your name?
AMANDA: Amanda.
JESS: Jess.
ZERO: I can tell you Zero. My friends call me Zero.
GILGER: Tell me a little bit about what you’re doing here today.
RICHARD: Trying to pick up some food Bills is exorbitant. And I need some food in the house.
GILGER: How many people in your house?
RICHARD: Three.
GILGER: Have you been coming here for a long time, or is this something new for you?
RICHARD: Third trip.
GILGER: Just ever?
RICHARD: Yeah, ever.
GILGER: What changed?
RICHARD: The economy changed. No food stamps. And just trying to make it. Trying to eat.
GILGER: Tell us, what brought you here today?
AMANDA: The no stamps. You know, the no SNAP. Yeah, definitely.
GILGER: No food stamps this week?
ZERO: No food stamps this week, and we’re just waiting for them to open it up. Might as well come and get some assistance. You know, it’s not abused or anything, but just whenever you need it. And we’re thankful for it, you know? We’re thankful.
GILGER: So you were on food stamps and didn’t get those benefits this week?
RICHARD: Correct.
GILGER: Do you mind me asking you how much you usually got?
RICHARD: It was like $450.
GILGER: And this time nothing?
RICHARD: Nothing.
AMANDA: It’s like close to $300. Yeah.
GILGER: Yeah. And now, that didn’t come this week?
AMANDA: No. No, it didn’t.
GILGER: What does that mean for you?
RICHARD: Trying not to do something bad. Trying to just keep my head above water.
AMANDA: You know, as an American, you pay your dues, like taxes come first before you see your paycheck. ... I felt like they knocked us off our feet, like, for a split second.
I really feel for people that have small children. The economy’s bad, the tariffs, like, everything.
If something was $3, it’s now close to $6.
GILGER: So the food, they just loaded up in the back of your car here, a box of food, some emergency groceries. Like, what does that mean for you, your family?
RICHARD: It means a lot to me. Because these day labor jobs, not paying anymore, nowhere are you gonna find something that’s just gonna hire you right off the street now.
GILGER: Tell me your name.
JANITA: It’s Janita ...
GILGER: Is this the first time you’ve come here?
JANITA: Yes, it is.
GILGER: What brought you here today?
JANITA: My food stamps day was on the fourth, and I didn’t get no food stamps, nor did I get the $50 gift card that everybody else was getting. So I’ve actually been looking around to go to them daily. Because going from $750 to no dollars in food stamps — four kids, three of them boys and one girl that eats like the boys — that sh-t is hard.
GILGER: Can you tell me your name?
AMELIA: Amelia.
GILGER: Yeah. Tell me what brought you here today.
AMELIA: With this shutdown, government shut down, no food stamps. I don’t work. I just get a disability for him, for my son. So struggling right now. By the time I pay the rent and everything, it’s hard to get other necessities that we need.
GILGER: What’s a meal look like with this kind of food or with food stamps? And then what’s a meal look like without it?
JANITA: Stressful. A meal with food stamps is a whole different world to have to have a meal with no food stamps now and have to figure it out.
GILGER: Tell me what this box of food you’re getting today will mean for your family. What can you do with it?
AMELIA: More than a week, probably of having groceries, something to eat on the table.
GILGER: Without it, would you have nothing?
AMELIA: Not really. Not really. Because like I said, by the time I pay rent and everything, so it’s kind of struggling right now.
GILGER: So do you know why SNAP was cut off? Why you didn’t get that money this week?
RICHARD: Basically, Trump said he’s not gonna pay it, but he sent 40 million overseas, but he ain’t gonna feed us.
GILGER: Are you mad?
RICHARD: I’m very mad. Very mad.
JANITA: It’s like not even the fact that you might go hungry. It’s just scary at the fact that a matter of what could happen to not be hungry, you know what I’m saying? Everybody’s not gonna have the mind frame that we got to come to a food bank. Some people are gonna steal.
GILGER: And you said this is because of the government shutdown. How do you feel about that?
AMELIA: Not too happy with that. You know, because a lot of us that really need the help, you know, he’s cutting out all the help that everybody needs.
GILGER: Who do you blame?
AMELIA: Trump.
GILGER: Why? Tell me.
AMELIA: I guess he knows everybody needs the help and he’s just withholding all the funds, you know?
RICHARD: Yeah. We’re supposed to be making America great again, but the way they’re doing it and going about it is not right. It’s not ethical.
GILGER: Thank you. I gotta keep it going. Thank you.
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