(ambient music) - [Narrator] Arizona PBS is supported by Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

Nonprofits are at the heart of our community, providing services that many depend on.

Thank a local nonprofit through a tax credit gift.

Learn more at pipertrust.org/nonprofits.

- [Narrator] Across Arizona, food banks and local nonprofits are fighting hunger every day, providing meals, hope and stability.

Join us in the fight against hunger.

Together, we can give every Arizonan a chance to thrive.

(gentle music) - Hello, I'm Catherine Anaya, and welcome to "Arizona Matters: Food Insecurity", where for the next half hour, we'll explore this complex issue and potential solutions.

One in seven Arizonans struggle with the lack of access to food, and many are just one job loss away from being food insecure.

Now, you'll meet one of those Arizonans, a young Phoenix mother who suddenly found herself in a time of need, trying to just make ends meet, and feed her young son.

(gentle music) - What's that?

(gentle music) Airplane.

(gentle music) Oh.

It felt as though the rug was pulled out from under me.

(gentle music) - [Catherine] It's been a rough few months for 22-year-old Lauren Garcia of Phoenix.

- I love the outdoors, because I feel so rightfully small.

- [Catherine] She spends some mornings hiking with her son, Luca.

After losing her job in December of 2025, Garcia had to take him out of daycare.

- It's really hard to be a single mom.

I knew when having Luca that I was at a financial disadvantage, because I was, you know, in the middle of getting my bachelor's degree.

Mac and cheese.

- [Catherine] Garcia found herself scrambling to pay for rent, utilities, and food.

- All right.

It was in the back of my mind that I would need to muster up that strength to ask for help.

(group chattering) - [Catherine] One of several places she's receiving help from is St.

Vincent de Paul, which provides her with food, utility, and rent support.

In addition to these services, St.

Vincent's prepares and serves 5,000 hot meals a day for Arizonans in need, like at this Central Phoenix kitchen.

Lauren never imagined she would be one of the thousands in need.

- There's this misconception that people who use assistance are lazy, unwilling to work, inadequate.

It's shown me the importance of refraining from judgment.

- Mac and cheese.

- Mac and cheese.

- [Catherine] Garcia's working again, while also caring for Luca, and says the whole experience is both humbling and eye-opening.

- I am a prime example of someone who every day evaluates themselves to be a better human being, a better mother, (gentle music) a better societal member, (gentle music) but I need the help, and that is exactly what it's in place for.

(gentle music) (Luca chattering) - Lauren's story is just one of frankly too many here in Arizona and across the country.

Joining us to tackle the causes of food insecurity and its effects, our local community, government and organization leaders who work in this space.

We have April Bradham, and she is the President and CEO of Arizona Food Bank Network, Shannon Clancy, CEO of St.

Vincent de Paul, Marlene Hernandez, Director of Arizona WIC, and Ginger Sykes Torres, Vice President of Resiliency Programs at Local First Arizona.

Thank you all so much for joining us.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Shannon, I wanna start with you.

We just saw in Lauren's story and heard her describe how difficult it is to ask for help, but we know that the help is there.

How does St.

Vincent de Paul make these services possible, and we're not just talking about food, there are other services beyond food that you provide.

Can you tell us about that?

- Well, in so many ways, we saw that in that clip, volunteers, special volunteers we call Vincentians, make a home visit just like they did to Lauren's home, and they bring food, but they also recognize that if you need food, you probably have other needs.

You might need help with rent, you might need help with utilities.

And there's so many families like Lauren out there, who are just struggling trying to meet the basic cost of living.

Not even just losing a job, but we have gas prices that are high right now, and food, and your rent, and maybe a car repair, and healthcare.

All of those costs, and trying to make sure that you can somehow juggle all of that to be able to stay in your home, and at St.

Vincent de Paul, food is important, but we recognize that it's not the only thing, and that every bit of food that we can get to people in our community means that they have that dollar to pay rent, and to stay in their homes, and to stay stable, and to take care of their family, and that's why conversations like these in this topic is so important, especially right now.

- It is a multi-layered issue.

April, the Arizona Food Bank Network is a coalition of regional food banks and agencies across the state.

How many other people and families here in the state of Arizona are in situations like Lauren's?

- As you had said, unfortunately, too many.

So right now, there is the last food insecurity report that was out there from Feeding America, showed one in seven Arizonans facing food insecurity, and that disproportionately affects children, 'cause multiple children often live in a household for, so for children in Arizona, it's one in five.

We believe that these numbers are actually increasing, just based on the demand that we're seeing at food banks right now.

So in 2019, before COVID, food banks were seeing about 450,000 individuals they were supporting per month on average.

Last year, in the fiscal years we measure, that was closer to 700,000, and then this fiscal year, which for us starts in July, we're actually seeing an average of 800,000.

So we have almost doubled the number of individuals, and the reason someone comes to a food bank is really individual, it's very complex, there's unique situations like Lauren's, there's you know, grandparents that took in their grandchildren, or there's sudden job loss, or various issues that families face when they're trying to make ends meet, and we're really seeing an increase in the number of folks that really just working maybe multiple jobs, and there's just not enough money at the end of the month for food, and that's where food banks are supporting the most.

- Yes, and we are so grateful, because there is that increase, as you mentioned, in people in need.

Lauren is a young single mom navigating these issues, and fortunately, there are services, as we mentioned, who support people like Lauren, specifically women in her position.

Marlene, I want to address this next question to you.

Can you tell us a little more about the services available through Arizona WIC, that is, for people who don't know, Women, Infant and Children, how does WIC bridge that critical gap of providing nutritious, healthy food for women, infants and children, and who exactly qualifies?

- Great question.

I'd first like to share that there are three programs in Arizona, Intertribal Council of WIC, Intertribal Council of Arizona WIC, Navajo Nation WIC, and Arizona WIC that I'm representing today.

To be eligible for WIC, you need to be pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding an infant or a child up to the age of five, and WIC provides nutrition education, breastfeeding support, nutritious foods, such as milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, fruits and vegetables, infant formula, infant foods, it saves families about $80 a month per participant, so if you have a family of three participating on WIC, that's saving them $240 a month.

On top of all of that, WIC is very closely connected to community services and healthcare services, so they can provide referrals.

- It's a lot of money -- - Yes.

- When you think about just how much you're able to provide a family in one month, so thank you for that.

Ginger, I want to ask you about Local First Arizona, because the organization plays a unique role in helping Arizonans fight this issue, particularly in those rural and tribal communities.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your efforts in those areas?

- Yeah, so Local First Arizona is tackling economic security, and we're making sure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed in Arizona.

We approach food insecurity by looking at it holistically, and trying to solve the issue at the root cause, so we're looking at food systems all the way from how food gets from the farm, all the way to consumers, the more healthy local foods that are available in our communities, the better and more accessible they are to everyone in the communities.

Local First also operates five community kitchens, where we are doing direct support for residents of a few housing development areas that are food insecure, and through that, we offer food pantries, we offer community cooking classes to teach about nutrition to children and adults, 'cause we're looking at really improving health outcomes, in the end, healthier populations, well-fed populations will result in economic security in the end for all of us.

- And it's so nice when you can see those families really get engaged together in learning how they can, you know, provide the sustainability for their families, and speaking of sustainability, it has become more vital for many communities too, because of the economic and geographic barriers that impact food supplies.

April, can you tell me a little bit about that, and other challenges that many of us may not have considered?

- Yeah, absolutely.

So I always like to say food banks are kind of like a secondary supply chain, right?

So they're following a very similar system to the retail grocers, and those, you know, different processes we have to get food to individuals.

The unique thing about food banks is their food comes from many different sources.

One is government commodities, so as there's changes in priorities, or shifting, sometimes that food shrinks, but also it is all subject to the same food price increases that we see, just as individuals at a grocery store.

So food banks are grappling a little bit with getting, you know what government food is coming used to be more 25-ish, 30%, and now it's less than 20%, so they're filling in that gap with donations, and with purchasing food, which, again, their dollars don't stretch as far as they used to.

So combined with the increased need, we are really trying to face how do you get as much food out there as possible to the people that are coming into our lines, and having to be really creative and innovative in how to do that.

- And when you have disruptions like we saw with SNAP recently, you know, that really makes it much more challenging.

Ginger, how do these disruptions trickle down to organizations like yours?

- Yeah, so some of the food banks have programs, where they get food directly from farmers and ranchers, and so if the program does not exist, it affects how much produce that the farmer and rancher can sell, that can also affect the regular prices for the rest of us, or the availability of specialized foods and crops that we would not be able to get otherwise.

And so the whole food system is a lot more resilient when the federal government is living up to some of their agreements, and not canceling programs left and right, and so I think that farmers in the end count on some of those programs, count on them to plan for the future in the amount of crops that they produce.

- Let's talk specifically about this disruption that we recently experienced with SNAP.

Since then, new requirements are disqualifying some people from SNAP.

April, can you help us understand the complexity of these eligibility issues?

What should we know?

- Absolutely.

So there's a few a few challenges that are faced.

So often families, especially when you're piecing together needs, you are relying on SNAP, you might be going to the food bank occasionally, you're relying on other services that nonprofits provide, and when there's a disruption in a major source, it shifts that family immediately of needing to find different resources.

So for SNAP particularly, I think it's important to note that food banks are very much intended to be emergency food assistance.

So if somebody needs food today, tomorrow, they're struggling to make it, and some, or an emergency happened and they can't get groceries, the food banks are wonderful at filling that in.

SNAP on the other hand is really supplementing nutrition assistance.

So it was essentially for every one meal food banks provided, SNAP provided about five.

So when there are shifts, whether it was the temporary shutdown, where SNAP was interrupted, or if it's the eligibility changes, where someone was eligible, and they no longer are, those spikes in demand in food banks is almost immediate, we start seeing more people in our lines needing to figure out how to piece together those needs, and we are seeing a decline in the number of people on SNAP in the state of Arizona right now, and that's some of what's driving that increase that food banks are seeing, in addition to inflation, and other things where there's just more families trying to figure out how to piece it together.

- Mm-hmm, that makes sense.

I wanna direct this next question to you, Marlene.

How have federal requirement changes impacted WIC in particular, and can you clarify the difference for a lot of folks between WIC and the SNAP benefits?

- Yeah, so federal requirements haven't really changed for WIC.

WIC has been very fortunate to have bipartisan support, that is holding strong for the past 30 years, so during continuing resolutions, government shutdowns, we've been very lucky to keep our doors open and running.

And the other question was the difference between SNAP and WIC, so as I mentioned earlier, to be on WIC, you do need to be pregnant, breastfeeding, postpartum, an infant or a child up to the age of five, and then WIC provides specific foods, as opposed to SNAP is a little more flexible.

- Mm-hmm.

Good to know.

I wanna go back to Lauren for just a moment, the single young mom we saw at the beginning of our program.

We heard from her about how humbling and eye-opening it really is for someone to experience this.

And Shannon, my next question is for you, how do organizations like St.

Vincent de Paul fight those misconceptions that exist out there among people who feel like, you know, people in need of food, or assistance, or just quote "living off the system", how do you address that?

- Well, I think we just heard from April too that those numbers, even that are receiving those benefits are decreasing.

So there's so many more people that are needing to rely on the generosity of the community in order to get what they need, and I think that one of the things that we often don't think about is that it's really hard to ask for help.

I think sometimes we think, "Oh, people are going to abuse the system", but it's hard, if we ask ourselves, it's hard to ask for help.

And so it takes a lot of courage to be someone like Lauren to say, "I do need the support of my community."

And this is an opportunity, I think, for our whole community to think different, just because you need help, we all need to eat every day.

So can we imagine a state, a community, where everyone has the food that they need, that it is healthy, and that they can feed their families, and that we don't have to rely, you know, on making those difficult choices.

And so I really think that's something that we think about a lot at St.

Vincent de Paul, and why programs like this are so important, not only to get beyond some of those misconceptions that we have, but also to rally all of us to say, "We can all do something.

We could do a drive, we can volunteer, we could donate a can of food at the grocery store, or a dollar at the register."

Those are ways that all of us as a community can rally behind moms like Lauren, and seniors, and others in our community, who are just really doing their very best to make ends meet, and we can all be supportive of that.

- And we need to reemphasize that one person truly can make a difference, right?

- Absolutely, and it's important, we can all do our part, and that really is why this is a wonderful state of generous people that want to do that, and it's up to organizations like ours and programs like these to say, "Here are ways that you can help.

Here is one way that you, as a family, as a faith community, as a school, as a corporation can step in, and help, and get behind."

There are far more of us in this state that can help than need help.

And this is an opportunity for all of us in our community to help families like Lauren, and to get behind and say, "We have your back."

- Absolutely.

And to come up with innovative ways to not only create sustainability, but also to encourage families to learn about sustainability together, which is one of the things that I love about what Local First does, Ginger, with the gardens that you create in these neighborhoods, and you get all of these children and families out there together learning about how important this sustainability is.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

- Yeah, so we offer community gardens, we have two operational right now, and what we're really trying to do is not only teach children and families about how to grow their own food, we also work with food entrepreneurs, so those that want to start a business in food, they could be wanting to start a farm, or they might want to do a value-added product, which takes the produce, and turns it into something else, so takes like a lettuce and turns it into shredded lettuce, that they can sell elsewhere, and we connect our community gardens to our community kitchens, so people can really see the link between where food is grown, and then how food is processed, and turned into something that could be sold, or something that could be given away, and then at the same time, teaching the nutrition classes, as well, but we also bring food entrepreneurs into the kitchen, as well, to gain skills in business areas that can help them grow and expand their business.

And so then we're getting into economic mobility and economic stability when a whole family is able to grow food, process it, or utilize it, and then maybe use it as a food business.

So I think it's really special that the gardens are kind of the beginning of that whole process.

And then all of our kitchens and our operations have sustainability in the mindset, so we do a lot of composting with materials that aren't used, we try to reduce waste as much as possible, and so we're really trying to look at the entire food system and making sure that we are accounting for everything in the way that we operate.

- It is a beautiful process, and you all do such a great job.

Marlene, I wanna ask you if you could explain or go more in-depth a little bit about some of the challenges of getting access to those tribal and rural communities that we discussed a little while ago.

- Yeah, so there are over 100 WIC clinics available statewide between the three programs, and then we also need access to a grocery store, and there's 700 statewide, combined between all three programs.

I wanna ask all of you this question, and I'll start with you, April, to each of you, what is the message that you would like our studio audience and our viewers at home to take away from our conversation today?

- So I'll say, you know, I think we talk about the need, we talk about the demand, we talk about the challenges, but I always like to center the fact, and some of what Shannon had mentioned is Arizona Food Bank Network's vision is a hunger-free Arizona.

And ultimately, that is possible.

I believe we can be a community, where we help out each other in times of need, whether that be directly, whether that be supporting a food bank, whether that's even sharing information on, "Here's where you can get help if you need it", we have a directory on our website that folks can go to.

We can continue to educate lawmakers on a very complex issue so that we can continue to build an area here in a state here that we all thrive in, we can support kids in getting the nutrition they need, while with school meals, and summer feeding, and promoting programs like WIC, and making sure people know it's available to them, so we all have a part to do in that, and if everybody does whatever part works for them, and that they're able to do, together, we can create a hunger-free Arizona, because really this is us supporting our community.

- Yes, it's a collaboration.

Marlene, can you tell me what message you want everyone to know?

- Yeah.

WIC recognizes that families come in all shapes and sizes, so it's not just for biological families, it's for dads, grandparents, foster parents, caregivers, and WIC is open, and here for you and your children.

- Thank you for that.

Ginger?

- So I think that this issue is a large issue, it's complex and to solve food insecurity, and make sure that everyone is fed in our state is gonna take a lot of big changes, and we need to look at the way that we operate, we need to look at where we're shopping, the more that we shop and support local producers, local farmers and ranchers, we're keeping that money circulating within our community, we're closer to the nutritious food that is produced, we have to stop shipping so much food out of the state of Arizona, we have over 85% of the food that is produced in Arizona gets shipped out, and then shipped back in for us to eat other food, so we will be in a much more resilient economy if we can change the way things work a little bit, and make sure that we're lifting up and empowering local producers, and we're empowering families here to have access to their produce.

- Well-said.

Thank you.

And Shannon, I'm going to give you the final word.

- Well, I would just say, large-scale challenges like this require large-scale statewide solutions, and it really does take, to echo April, it does take all of us, St.

Vincent de Paul right now is running a statewide campaign called "Feeding Our Neighbors Together", and it really tries to inspire and invite all of people across the state to come together to do their part.

We all know, we want people to have the food they need to feed, we want moms like Lauren to be able to feed her little boy, we can all do our part, whether that's host a drive, come and volunteer at a place like St.

Vincent de Paul, or all the food banks, who are always looking for help.

So how can we, we can make donations at the grocery store, or drop off a jar of peanut butter in the box before we leave, all those things make a difference.

There are far more of us that can help, that need help in our state, and if we all come together, we can feed our neighbors together, make sure they have the food they need.

- Thank you so much.

Very well-said, as well.

Thank you.

We have links to all of these organizations, by the way, on our website, for more information, and resources that are available, and you can go to azpbs.org/azmatters if you would like more information.

You have all been so wonderful, thank you again to my guests, April Bradham, Shannon Clancy, Marlene Hernandez, and Ginger Sykes Torres for joining me for this very important conversation.

And of course, I wanna thank all of you out there who are watching us from home, we appreciate it so much.

I'm Catherine Anaya for Arizona PBS, thanks for watching.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Arizona PBS is supported by Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

Nonprofits are at the heart of our community, providing services that many depend on.

Thank a local nonprofit through a tax credit gift.

Learn more at pipertrust.org/nonprofits.

- [Narrator] Across Arizona, food banks and local nonprofits are fighting hunger every day, providing meals, hope and stability.

Join us in the fight against hunger.

Together, we can give every Arizonan a chance to thrive.

(gentle music)