Arizona Governor announces $500K grant to food banks, easing pandemic needs

Food banks considered essential under Ducey’s stay-at-home order

However, many people gathered at St. Mary's Food Bank Tuesday, hours before the stay-at-home order taking effect.

The Governor of Arizona announced on Wednesday a $500,000 grant to state's food banks in response to the spike in demand to provide free food to families during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Doug Ducey says the grant came from the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund and funds will be disbursed to food banks part of the Association of Arizona Food Banks.

The association represents a network of nearly 1,000 food pantries and organizations in all 15 counties in Arizona.

Some of these food banks experienced a demand up to five times than normal than usual due to COVID-19.

“We want to make sure nobody goes hungry as we respond to COVID-19 and get people back to work,” Ducey said. “With these dollars, Arizona food pantries across the state will be able to make more food deliveries and help more families, while implementing new protocols that prioritize public health such as drive-thru pick-ups. This grant is made possible because of the generous donations to the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund, and my thanks goes out to everyone coming together and pitching in to help Arizonans in need.”

The food banks receiving the funds are: St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance; Desert Mission Food Bank; United Food Bank; Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and Yuma Community Food Bank.

Those who wish to support state food banks can visit ArizonaTogether.org.