St Marys Food Bank On Track To Break All
PHOENIX — As inflation has hit many across the state, Arizonans are turning to food banks in times of need. St. Marys Food Bank is on track to break an all-time monthly record for families served, heading toward 150,000 families helped in August. The Knight Center facility near 31st Avenue and Thomas Road has served over 25,000 families this month alone.
Arizonas Family was at the food bank on Thursday morning, where four lines of cars were wrapped around the building. Volunteers were packing up fresh vegetables, drinks, bread and pantry foods. Then, they began filling shopping carts with food boxes and bringing them out to peoples cars.
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The food bank says its the highest number of families served for any month in its 55-year history. The would-be record beats out distributions during COVID-19, where unemployment skyrocketed in the country. It also beats out the annual holiday food drives, where people are waiting in long lines for Thanksgiving meals. During the pandemic, we saw an incredible number of people coming to us for help, and that started to get better. Now, its starting to climb again with this inflation. Never dreamed we would be here less than a year, and were back in the same situation where we have people coming to us asking for help, said Tom Kertis, St. Marys Food Bank president and CEO.
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The Community Kitchen is a life skills and food service training program for those with barriers to employment.Students gain the skills to get jobs offering livable wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement through hands-on food service training as well as classroom studies. During the past decade, the Community Kitchen has provided thousands of meals to those in need, while transforming the lives of countless participants and families. New sessions start every three weeks. In addition to training, each student receives job-placement assistance and support following graduation.
St Mary’s Food Bank Alliance
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St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization located in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1967 by John van Hengel, St. Mary’s was the first modern organization to operate using the food bank model, which spread throughout U.S. and the rest of the world. Today, St. Mary’s is recognized as the world’s first food bank.
Since its creation, St. Mary’s has expanded its operations to nine of Arizona’s fifteen counties, distributing millions of pounds of food to the hungry each year. St. Mary’s also operates its own food pantry, allowing people to get food directly from the warehouse. The organization additionally offers specialized programs apart from food banking, including after-school programs for children and career training for adults.
St. Mary’s is a member of Feeding America, a network of hunger-relief organizations also founded by van Hengel with the purpose of providing food to people across the country.
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Phoenix Food Bank Sees Influx Of Families In Need As Costs Of Living Rises
PHOENIX – Rising costs of living, from gas to groceries, are pushing some families around the Valley to a place they havent been before: food banks. The St. Marys Food Bank helped more than a thousand people on Wednesday, the most in 2 years during the height of the pandemic. The line was backed up all the way to Thomas Road at the facility just south on 31st Avenue, with some in line for the first time. I didnt think Id find myself here, said Nelly Felix. I have two kids under four, so food every third day, milk, cheese, bananas, eggs, its about a $100 every three days.
The latest USDA data shows it costs a family of four $916 a month for groceries compared to $682 this time last year. St. Marys spokesperson Jerry Brown said like the costs of food, the need at their bank is rising fast. For information on how to volunteer at St. Marys, or to donate, .
Last month, we were seeing about 600-650 cars a day which is about a 20% increase than last year, yesterday, we served almost a thousand people and we are going to do that again today, said Brown. Brown said its the perfect storm of need, kids out of school, more mouths to feed without free lunch, in addition to the problems the people are experiencing. Take something like gas prices, they a 1-2 more than what they were last month. Rent prices are going through the roof, food prices are going through the roof…you put that all together and the paycheck isnt cutting it.
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About St Mary’s Food Bank Alliance
St. Marys Food Bank serves to alleviate hunger through the gathering and distribution of food while encouraging self-sufficiency, collaboration, advocacy and education.
St. Marys Food Bank is truly a community-based organization. Individual donors, corporate donors, and private grants help feed hungry individuals and families in our area. Serving 9 of Arizonas 15 counties, we are committed to volunteerism, building community relationships and improving the quality of life for Arizonans in need.
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St Marys Sends Food Water To Families Impacted By Storm In Bullhead City
PHOENIX – After a damaging storm last Sunday knocked out power for most of Bullhead City and surrounding communities, a valley-based food bank is providing food for those in need.
On Tuesday, St. Marys Food Bank dispatched a refrigerated tractor-trailer truck packed with more than 20,000 pounds of food and water to Bullhead City in Mohave County to assist those impacted by the power outages and have limited resources to restock.
RELATED: About 2,000 households in Bullhead City still without power
The non-profit says their employees worked through the night on Monday to pack up the track to help families in desperate need of help.
Friends in Bullhead City needed #StMarysFoodBank. Sundays storm left many without electricity. All perishable food spoiled. Within 17 hrs, we delivered a semi-truck of food and water. THANK YOU for supporting St. Marys Food Bank so we could help. #Community
St. Mary’s Food Bank
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