The following is the opinion and analysis of the writers:
For 50 years, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona has been there when our neighbors in Southeastern Arizona (Pima, Graham, Greenlee, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties) needed us.
As former members of the Board of Directors, we have seen that work from the inside. We have seen when demand surged, budgets tightened, and difficult decisions had to be made. We have also seen something else: an organization willing to change, try new things and respond to what the community needs.
The Food Bank has never been only about distributing food. Over the years, we have watched it create school gardens that help children understand where food comes from and why nutrition matters. We have seen a community farm and gardens bring people together around healthy food. We have seen the Food Bank strengthen partner agencies so they can serve their own neighborhoods more effectively.
People are also reading…
And we have seen it use advocacy to make sure the voices of people experiencing hunger are heard. We have also seen the Food Bank create opportunities for people to build a different future. Through Caridad Community Kitchen’s Culinary Training program, neighbors facing barriers to employment can learn practical skills, gain confidence and prepare for work in professional kitchens. That willingness to listen and adapt matters because hunger is changing.
Today, the people seeking help are children, older adults, working families and people who may never have imagined they would need a food bank. Some are living on fixed incomes. Some are working full time and still struggling to keep up with housing, utilities, medical bills and food costs. For many households, one unexpected expense can be enough to upset an already tight budget.
Public policy is part of this picture as well. Recent federal changes to SNAP affect eligibility, work requirements, and the share of administrative costs states must carry. These decisions are debated in Washington, but their consequences are felt here at home. When families lose food assistance, hunger does not disappear. The responsibility shifts to food banks, schools, churches, nonprofit organizations, donors and volunteers. That is why hunger should not become a partisan issue.
During our time with the Community Food Bank, we have seen elected officials from different political parties stand with the organization because they understood something basic: people need to eat. Republicans, Democrats and Independents may disagree on many things, but making sure children, families and older adults have access to nutritious food should remain common ground.
As voters consider candidates and as policymakers debate SNAP, Nutrition Programs and the Farm Bill, we hope Southern Arizonans will pay close attention to how those decisions affect our neighbors.
And we are hopeful about what comes next. The next 50 years are already taking shape. The Food Bank is investing in the future of its Nogales operation, where the current Resource Center is its second-busiest site and plans for a larger facility are intended to strengthen service in Santa Cruz County. The merger with Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona is another important step, helping preserve and expand access to nutritious home-delivered meals for older adults, people with disabilities and others who face barriers to getting food.
Those efforts reflect what we have seen for decades: when the community changes, the Community Food Bank changes with it. Former staff return to help. Former board members stay involved. Donors keep giving. Volunteers come back year after year. That says something powerful about a mission larger than any one leader, Board of Directors or moment in time. As former board members, we are proud of the first 50 years and excited about what Southern Arizona can accomplish together in the next 50.
Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Learn where your elected officials and candidates stand on hunger and nutrition policy. Make your voice heard. Because as long as there is hunger in Southern Arizona, there is work for all of us to do.
Follow these steps to easily submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion to the Arizona Daily Star.
The eight signers of this piece are all former Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona members of the Board of Directors.
