Impending updates to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits are leaving many Maricopa County families wondering how they will put food on the table.
In September alone, 855,273 Arizonans relied on SNAP benefits – that’s about 1 in every 10 adults and 1 in every 4 children. As food costs rise and resources remain limited, Valley food banks and community pantries are seeing growing demand.
Now more than ever, our community needs our collective support in creating a stable safety net.
For Reese, these challenges are deeply personal. Growing up, Reese’s caregiver benefited from the support of Valley of the Sun United Way’s partner agencies. That network provided critical assistance, from help with after-school programs and childcare to access to essential supplies and services like doctor’s appointments, school materials, and holiday gifts. These supports helped Reese’s family build stability and move toward independence.
However, due to recent shifts, this is Reese’s story today – and the reality many families face as SNAP support becomes harder to rely on.
“Almost two years ago, we welcomed our sweet girl, Mae. A year later, we were blessed with our boy, Kai. In an instant, our life was complete. Our love for our two beautiful children transcended anything we had ever known. My husband and I made a promise to each other and to our kids to provide them with a better life than we had growing up.
We worked hard and sacrificed much of our young adulthood to power through post-secondary night school, to bring our promise into fruition. While waiting for our son to make his entrance, I was struggling with an underlying congenital heart condition that left me bedridden and unable to continue providing for my family. My husband picked up extra shifts and odd jobs to keep us afloat. We relied heavily on government programs, like WIC and SNAP, to keep food on the table, and even turned to food banks to supplement.
We knew this extra help was only going to be a temporary solution until I could rejoin the workforce, but our hopes were quickly dashed when we were quoted dastardly childcare tuition rates. With childcare unattainable, we were left with a harsh decision: let our children’s dad continue working eighty hours a week, unable to be there for his babies, or to put ourselves into decades of debt so I could bring home a paycheck that doesn’t even cover the cost of childcare.
I became a stay-at-home parent, showing up day after day for our two innocent children, while also picking up a night shift job to provide after our kids went to bed. Our days got longer, with Dad leaving earlier to work. We began doing DoorDash and Instacart on the weekends, just to buy food and pay our bills. Our monthly allowance from the government wasn’t enough to feed our hungry toddler. Once again, we were challenged with a dilemma: there’s not enough food to fuel all of us, so someone had to consume less.
So, who was it going to be? Once again, the father of our children sacrificed himself to feed the rest of us. Finally, as we had been dreading it for so long, on November 7, we officially lost all government assistance. All our available hours are spent, leaving us no more time to work anymore, and we are still faced with the daunting question: how are we going to eat this week?”
How you can help:
As families like Reese’s continue to navigate changes to assistance programs, our local food banks and pantries are working tirelessly to meet the growing need. Together, we can make sure no family has to wonder where their next meal will come from. Learn how you can make a lasting impact in the fight against hunger: vsuw.org/snapsupport.
