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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tArizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (left) and Miracle Mile Deli owner Josh Garcia are working to help families in need amid SNAP freeze.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tArizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (left) and Miracle Mile Deli owner Josh Garcia are working to help families in need amid SNAP freeze.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Mykaela Martin<\/p>\n
As the nation\u2019s food stamps crisis continues this month, the Arizona Secretary of State\u2019s Office is partnering with a local business organization to make sure families that rely on the program don\u2019t go hungry.<\/p>\n
In Arizona, one in four children and one in ten adults rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But starting on Nov. 1, the roughly 900,000 Arizonans who use the program lost access to the essential nutrition funding.<\/p>\n
Uncertainty created by the federal government\u2019s failings has led local businesses and restaurants, such as Lovebite Dumplings<\/a>, to step up and offer assistance to Valley residents who normally rely on SNAP. That assistance comes in the form of free or discounted meals, as well as mutual aid.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill you step up to support New Times this year?<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n To share these resources, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has partnered with Local First Arizona \u2014 a nonprofit that supports independent local businesses \u2014 to create a website database of local businesses<\/a> that are stepping up to bridge the hunger gap.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw a need and I know that Arizonans are, by nature, generous,\u201d Fontes told Phoenix New Times at Miracle Mile Deli on Friday. \u201cI\u2019ve got kids too, and I\u2019ve got friends who are using SNAP benefits. These are critical for folks to be able to live with dignity. There\u2019s no reason why we shouldn\u2019t be able to support folks like this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The new website<\/a>, called the \u201cAZ SNAP Support initiative,\u201d currently lists a dozen Arizona businesses (mostly in the Valley), along with their locations and contribution details. Those restaurants include Lovebite, Olla Olla Crepes, Baked Chemistry Vegan, four locations of Proof Bread, The Coronado and The Pemberton. Tucson\u2019s Kingfisher Bar & Grill is also listed.<\/p>\n \u201cLocal businesses aren\u2019t just places to eat or shop, they\u2019re the fabric of our communities,\u201d Local First Arizona CEO Kimber Lanning said in a press release. \u201cWe stand with the food banks, mutual aid groups, farms, restaurants and community advocates that are stepping in to fill the gaps and ensure families have access to healthy, nourishing food when they need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Human dignity comes first\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n When that need may subside remains unknown, as SNAP\u2019s future is in limbo.\u00a0<\/p>\n In late October, two federal judges ruled that freezing the program is unlawful. However, President Donald Trump appears to be keen on defying the order. Court filings show that the administration said it would distribute half of the usual funds<\/a>, but then Trump himself contradicted that statement on Truth Social and said that no SNAP funds would be paid out<\/a> until the current government shutdown ends.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hours after the courts ordered the Trump administration to make payments, Fontes also predicted correctly that the president couldn\u2019t be relied on to follow through.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re making lemonade out of the lemons that are coming from Washington, D.C.,\u201d Fontes said. \u201cJust because the court ordered the administration to do it doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re going to do it. And if there are delays \u2014 with a million people in Arizona who use SNAP benefits \u2014 what does it take per day to feed that many folks?\u201d<\/p>\n Miracle Mile Deli, while not currently listed on the website, has started its own \u201cpay-it-forward\u201d campaign to help people. Its owner, Josh Garcia, told New Times on Friday that the restaurant will utilize its relationships with local schools to distribute mutual aid.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is to hopefully get the community involved in making donations and contributions to use so we can give funds directly to Title I schools or local families that are in need,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cWe know this is going to get ugly really fast unless something gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n Fontes said he is optimistic that politicians in Washington will eventually realize how important funding SNAP is, but also wary that this crisis could indicate the coming of similar ones in which poor and working-class people suffer.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s beyond the scope of reasonableness to think that we might see other social safety nets and systems collapse. Just the threat of it is enough to get people to put politics aside and say, \u2018You know what? Human dignity comes first,\u2019\u201d Fontes said. \u201cUntil we reach a point of crisis, some of us really take a lot of these safety net systems for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n