TUCSON, Ariz. — While some Arizonans are starting the week with money on their SNAP cards, others are still searching for a meal they can afford with empty EBT accounts.
Funding for SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is up in the air, highly contested between the federal government and some state administrations, including Arizona. Caught in the crossfire are over 800,000 Arizonans who rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table.
The team at the Heirloom Farmers Markets put in place a program— created by their non-profit partner Pinnacle Prevention— to help ease food costs for their customers who use SNAP, which Heirloom's Development Director Doran Hadan says is around 30-40%.
Their program gives a $10 voucher that any SNAP recipient can use to purchase produce at Heirloom markets.
That —plus a $30-per-family state voucher program announced by Governor Katie Hobbs Oct. 29— gives $40 in total to SNAP shoppers to help fill their fridges with SNAP-eligible groceries.
Hadan says that's bringing more shoppers to their markets.
“We’re seeing customers who have never been to the markets before coming for the vouchers," she said.
Friday, the United States Department of Agriculture said they were working to get benefits back into people's accounts after a federal judge required the federal government to fully fund SNAP benefits for November.
Just as some Americans started getting their benefits back this weekend, the Supreme Court blocked the return of funds.
Saturday, the Trump administration told states—like Arizona— that started giving benefits to SNAP users to "immediately undo" actions taken to fund those benefits fully for the month.
"We really don't know when this food crisis is going to end," Hadan said. "We don't know when people are going to get their benefits."
Just in case these vouchers these vouchers run out before benefits come back, the Heirloom team is asking the community to help them fill in any gaps. Those donated funds, which they're accepting on their website, will go to $20 "Nourish Your Neighbors" vouchers.
“Our community has to come together for our neighbors, for these people who are not going to have food on their tables," Hadan said.
Some vendors are stepping in too, offering special deals for customers using SNAP— both at the markets and beyond.
J. Grace Simon, the market representative for Tucson-based bakery Holy Focaccia, says taking care of their community is their job as local businesses.
“Tucson is our family," Simon said. "We want to provide and make sure everyone can have full bellies and happy hearts and happy minds."
Holy Focaccia is also offering fresh, free loaves of bread for those affected by SNAP funding at Brickbox brewery Wednesdays through Sundays.
