Arizona food banks are facing significant challenges in meeting increased demand due to a reduction of $500 million in federal food aid by the Trump administration, along with announced future cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Reports from ProPublica and the Arizona Mirror indicate that these cancellations have led to a loss of 1.9 million pounds of food deliveries to the state, which included essential items such as eggs, chicken, and milk.
St. Mary’s Food Bank, one of the largest food banks in the nation, reported a loss of nearly 900,000 pounds of food, resulting in a reduction of items in its emergency boxes from about 15 to 10. CEO Milt Liu stated that the organization cannot find enough food to close the existing gap.
Similarly, Community Food Bank and United Food Bank have scaled back their distributions after losing nearly 450,000 pounds each. The cuts, combined with increased SNAP work requirements under the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” are projected to impact 70,000 Arizonans and potentially reduce benefits for hundreds of thousands more.
In response to these challenges, some food banks have opened new facilities and increased private donations; however, leaders from these organizations assert that state efforts are insufficient to make up for the federal shortfall. Chris Firmage, a spokesman for Community Food Bank, noted that the organization is stretching its resources to their limits.
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