By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A new report finds one in seven Arizonans and one in five children in the state do not have enough to eat and do not know where their next meal will come from.
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The Feeding America report estimates more than 1.1 million Arizonans were food insecure in 2024—nearly 15 percent of the state’s population—with a statewide food budget shortfall of more than $737 million. The data come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Food banks say demand is rising
Food bank leaders say the situation on the ground is even more challenging than what the report reflects. For Jeannie and her family of eight, the food pantry has become a lifeline.
“When you have little ones and with what’s happening right now, this is a blessing,” she said.
Christopher Bodnar, director of agency network for United Food Bank, said pressure is coming from multiple directions as families struggle with rising costs.
“So we’re seeing that gas prices, utility prices, things are going up. People are struggling to pay their bills. And most of the times when it comes to it, food is some of the first things to go,” Bodnar said.
He said that shift is forcing food banks to absorb demand they were never designed to carry.
Arizona among least affordable states
Zachary Milne, Arizona director of policy and research at the Common Sense Institute, said that even as inflation has cooled slightly in recent months, Arizona families are still feeling the squeeze.
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“Arizona has become one of the least affordable states in the country,” Milne said.
Milne said it is in part due to the war with Iran.
SNAP cuts adding to the strain
At St. Mary’s Food Bank, leaders say the situation is further strained by changes in federal food assistance. The number of Arizonans on SNAP has dropped from 900,000 to between 400,000, according to food bank leaders. Arizona is leading the nation in SNAP benefit losses amid the Trump administration’s cuts.
St. Mary’s Food Bank reported seeing half a million more visitors this year than at the same point last year.
“It’s just not sustainable for food banks,” one leader said.
Future hunger data at risk
Future versions of the Feeding America report may never be released. The Trump administration’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” cut funding that supported the long-running report. A statement released by the USDA called the report costly, redundant and politicized.
Critics argue that losing the data means one of the country’s key tools for tracking hunger will disappear, making it harder to measure food insecurity — where it is happening and why.
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