Our vision
We envision a day when food banks are no longer needed, when families have access to the nutritious meals they need to stay healthy, and children no longer attend school with empty tummies.
In addition to supporting our food banks to feed people today, we also work to solve hunger for tomorrow. These Hunger Solutions reduce long-term hunger for people who are high-risk, and we know experience higher rates of need than others might.
Here is how:
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Children
We work with schools, government agencies, and local community partners to ensure every child gets the food and nutrition they need. This helps avoid all kinds of host of negative health impacts for children that can affect them for a lifetime! It also sets them up to fail academically. Who can learn when they’re hungry and – why would we expect children to?
The goal is simple: ensure every child in Arizona gets 3 nutritious meals a day, 7 days a week, no matter if school is in session or children are on break. Sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately, this is much more easily said than done. Visit our childhood hunger page to learn more about the programs and resources we use to make this happen.
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College Students
A college education – what a critical step for people wanting to make a better life for themselves. Many who grow up in families struggling with hunger look at college as golden ticket to escape poverty. But so many make it to college only to find it more difficult to get the food they need. Instead of being able to focus on studying, they worry about where their next meal will come from.
To help students at risk of hunger worry about studying instead of groceries, AzFBN works with community colleges, universities, and other nonprofits throughout the state to design programs that provide college students with the food they need.
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Native Americans
Indigenous people experience some of the highest rates of food insecurity. And this problem isn’t unique to Arizona. The legacy of injustice has forcibly removed them from ancestral ways, and the food system is no different. Informed by this history of disenfranchisement, we focus on supporting Native American communities to address their lack of food access in culturally responsive ways that build independence.
In addition to working closely with tribal schools, we partner closely with tribal communities to conduct community-led assessments to uncover the root causes of child food security and develop community-led solutions, all with a commitment to supporting tribal food sovereignty.
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Older Adults
10,000 Arizonans turn 65 every day. By 2030, 20% of Arizona’s population will be people over 65. So it’s no surprise that older adults are the fastest growing food insecure population in the nation. Sadly, many fixed-income seniors don’t have the income necessary to pay for their medical bills and food, forcing a tragic decision between the two. We work with senior centers, government agencies, and local nonprofits to ensure older adults get the food and nutrition they need.
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