TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — When trouble comes into people's lives, they often come to the Food Bank of Southern Arizona; but now with increased demand, and reduced resources, the Food Bank has troubles of its own.
We found Jerry Peltier loading his car with healthy, fresh food for himself, his wife and his disabled sister in law.
KGUN reporter Craig Smith asked: “How important is the Food Bank in your life right now?”
Jerry: “Oh it’s really important. There’s a lot of things we’d never get and we go here and it’s just a blessing.”
Anthony Hobbs is new in town. He’s grateful the Food Bank can help feed his family while he’s looking for work.
“It’s hard but you know…God will help you out in the end, If you keep your eyes on God everything will work out good.”
Natalie Jayroe is the new CEO of the Food Bank of Southern Arizona. Earlier, she spent thirty years helping people through food banks in New Orleans and Georgia but she’s never seen a situation like this.
She says the US Department of Agriculture has cut off food donations that covered about a quarter of the Food Bank’s supplies. But demand for food is up eleven percent.
Now new people need help: Federal employees the shutdown has shut out of a paycheck. When Jayroe talks with them she senses something that goes beyond hunger.
“Fear, a lot of fear. We're getting a lot of folks that are talking to us that are very, very careful to say, ‘Please do not say I'm with this federal agency or that federal agency’. They're fearful that they'll be made to pay a price if they openly say ‘I'm worried about how I'm going to feed my family’. A lot of nervousness, because there's so much uncertainty. How long is this going to go on?”
Jayroe says tough times have driven more people to volunteer and to donate and she says the Food Bank may work to close food supply gaps with more donations from the community, from grocery chains and through food drives.
If you’re interesting in donating, volunteering, or receiving help from the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, you can find more information at this link: https://www.communityfoodbank.org/
KGUN9 has compiled a page of a wide range of organizations that can help provide food or be a place where you can volunteer your help. You can find it at this link.
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/a-helping-hand-food-resources-in-southern-arizona
