Southern AZ Food Banks See Increased Need This Holiday Season

TUCSON, AZ — At the Yuma Community Food Bank, lines have built up on distribution days since the coronavirus pandemic first hit in March. The steady need is only increasing as the holidays approach and the virus is surging in Arizona and across the U.S.

"The lines continue to get longer, and we continue to get calls from families seeking our services for the first time," Michelle Merkley, the food bank's director of operations, told Patch. "Families are struggling to pay their bills and looking to us to help offset those costs."

Merkley said that they were serving 3,000 households on a monthly basis before the pandemic. The food bank is currently serving 9,000, with more reaching out for assistance every day.

In Pima County, about 138,690 people were considered food insecure before the pandemic, according to Feeding America's "Map the Meal Gap" interactive study. Job loss and other economic crises associated with the coronavirus could push the rate of food insecurity in Pima County to 19.1 percent by the end of the year.

That makes the mission to feed the hungry even more real for Yuma Community Food Bank.

Merkley told the story of a father and daughter who came to the food bank on Friday, after it was closed. The father had recently lost his job, and he and his children hadn't eaten in days. The young daughter begged for food for herself and her pregnant mother, and the food bank made sure to get them plenty of food to get them through the weekend, despite being closed.

"Seeing parents faces when they are struggling to feed their families is what keeps us going every day here," Merkley said.

But as distribution lines get longer, Merkley said that monetary and food donations, as well as volunteer commitments, have decreased. The Arizona National Guard has been helping to pack and distribute emergency goods, but its temporary posting ends Dec. 9.

"Monetary donations are always welcome, and we work with Feeding America to help stretch those dollars," she said, noting that each dollar can provide 11 meals. "Nonperishable food items help us make sure that we can provide a variety of food items for individuals, families and seniors in need."

Donations are also in high demand at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, which serves several counties in that part of the state, including Pima County. While the spike in need that hit at the height of the pandemic has leveled somewhat, distribution is still up by 50 percent from 2019, Norma Cable, public relations and marketing specialist for the food bank, told Patch.

"We are grateful to be open and able to help people who need food," she said. "We certainly know it's a basic human right."

With cars lining the food bank parking lot for weeks to get food after it shifted to drive-thru pickup only, many of them full of families asking for assistance for the first time, Cable said the operation had to move distribution to the Kino Sports Complex in May. Distributions take place every Tuesday and Thursday morning to keep up with the demand.

Tuesday's Thanksgiving distribution handed out meals to 2,000 families, a huge increase from the 1,000 families served ahead of the holiday last year.

Cable said monetary donations are appreciated at the moment since food drives are much more difficult to coordinate with social distancing guidelines and the need to disinfect donated items. Prior to the pandemic, each dollar went toward four meals.

"We actually have seen donations increase, so we are appreciative of a community that continues to try to hold us up in these times," she said.

In addition to feeding the hungry, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona also works to educate people on how to grow their own food in order to help fight poverty. It also works with local growers to get their fruits and vegetables into local institutions, such as the University of Arizona.

"We're working on many different fronts, really working toward getting nutritious healthy food out there to the community, and really helping in in many different ways," Cable said.

You can help both the Yuma Community Food Bank fulfill its mission by volunteering or donating and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.