Food Insecurity Can Affect Anyone: Jennifer and Matthew’s Story
With the cost of living in Arizona rising higher than most places in the US, many Arizonans struggle to afford basic costs of living, even if they work full-time. Of the 1 in 10 Arizonans who are food insecure, 51% don’t qualify for helpful SNAP benefits because their income is too high. One such couple is Jennifer and Matthew, who recently moved to Arizona after Matthew retired from six years of service with the Navy. The couple are both employed, but with high grocery costs, they still struggle to make ends meet.
Jennifer and Matthew
“I really like being in Arizona, but groceries here are just so expensive. We are budgeting out every single thing to make our paychecks last. We both work jobs but aren’t able to make ends meet. Coming to a neighborhood pantry allows us to stretch our budget and be a little more comfortable. The food we get here is really good too.”
Matthew echoed the quality, and quantity of food that they get from the United Food Bank partner agency. “Sometimes we can’t even use the produce quick enough, we get so much,” said Matthew, “we really appreciate that we get quality stuff. It makes you feel cared for.”
“When we are at the grocery store, there are sometimes things we want to try, but can’t afford to spend money on. So it is really nice to get fresh produce and new things we haven’t tried from this distribution. It is great, healthy food that we love to cook with,” shared Jennifer.
AZCEND is a United Food Bank Partner Agency located in Chandler, AZ. Chandler is home to about 286,000 residents. While the percentage of people in poverty in Chandler is 7.5%, there are still many people who struggle with food insecurity. In 2022, United Food Bank partner agencies provided nearly 2,470,000 meals to Chandler residents. At their Monday through Thursday food distributions, AZCEND has been able to distribute over 17,000 food boxes per year with enough food to feed over 50,000 adults and children.
Since 1966, AZCEND has served the Chandler community in various ways beyond their food pantry. They offer “Neighborhood Assistance Service,” that provides rent and utility assistance and eviction prevention assistance to those who need it. They have their Family Resource Centers (Chandler and Gilbert), where they offer classes to families and kids throughout the year, provide financial or gift assistance around the holiday’s, and a “Back to School” Backpack program for kids. AZCEND also has a program called I-HELP, that provides food, shelter, showers and case management services for people experiencing homelessness in Chandler.
Help your community by supporting United Food Bank. Donations directly help support partner agencies, like AZCEND, run food distributions to help neighbors like Jennifer and Matthew.
Written by Sarah Bathe
