TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly joined volunteers Tuesday at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, where the Democratic senator criticized recent federal policy changes affecting food assistance while packaging food for families and individuals in need.
Kelly’s visit came as the food bank begins Hunger Action Month and continues serving residents across Southern Arizona. The organization, based in Pima County, serves Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties and relies on about 160 employees and hundreds of volunteers.
“Part of this building has my wife’s name on it,” Kelly said. “Gabby was always a big supporter of the Tucson Food Bank.”
The Gabrielle Giffords Resource Center is part of the food bank’s Country Club Road campus, where emergency food and senior food boxes are distributed to eligible recipients.
During his visit, Kelly helped fill packages intended for food bank recipients, including people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or have lost access to them.
“We’ve got Republicans in Congress that have just prioritized tax cuts for billionaires over programs like SNAP,” Kelly said. “Because of that we’ve had 167,000 kids lose their SNAP benefits.”
The number is in line with recent estimates showing that more than 175,000 Arizona children lost SNAP assistance between August 2025 and February 2026, amid a sharp statewide decline in enrollment following changes in federal law and eligibility requirements.
Kelly also blamed tariffs supported by President Donald Trump for contributing to higher consumer prices.
“We should have people who lead this country that don’t jack up prices because somebody told him tariffs were a good idea,” Kelly said.
For Norah Siller, a student, single mother and SNAP recipient, rising grocery costs have made food assistance more difficult to stretch.
“Twenty dollars for meat? 80/20 was like a ground beef that nobody ate, and now it’s like seven dollars a pound,” Siller said. “How do I make that work?”
Siller said the process of applying for benefits has become more burdensome and that her monthly assistance does not go as far as it once did.
She said she was encouraged by Kelly’s visit, not only by his policy positions but by his willingness to listen to people experiencing food insecurity firsthand.
“Honestly, it’s more being heard,” Siller said. “He asked so many questions — he was very engaged. So that validation and amount of attention is incredible.”
The food bank is also encouraging residents to support Hunger Action Month throughout September, with its annual HungerWalk scheduled for Sept. 12.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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