SNAP: AZ families step up to help others in need
With SNAP benefits being paused due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, some local families are stepping up to other families in the Phoenix area who rely on the benefits. FOX 10’s Marc Martinez has more.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Families in parts of the Phoenix area are stepping up to help other local families who rely on SNAP benefits, as one elementary school within the Scottsdale Unified School District organized a food drive.
Local perspective:
When families at Cherokee Elementary School heard that SNAP benefits would be expiring, they immediately organized a food drive to help families across the district that might be struggling.
It’s only been two days, but the bins outside Cherokee Elementary in Paradise Valley have been filling up.
“We brought in two whole boxes,” 3rd grader Meyer Teahen said.
“I buy like peanut butter, I buy like things with protein,” 5th grader Libby Johnson said.
Principal Zach Woodward is proud of his students and school community.
“This amazing response is not uncommon, but indictive of an amazing community we have here at Cherokee Elementary School and across the district in SUSD,” Woodward said. “This food drive just started yesterday and in two days’ time, we’ve already collected a significant amount of food.”
Dig deeper:
The food will help any family who needs it at the school, and be spread throughout food banks within the district and state.
As a former teacher, Woodward also knows how important proper nutrition is for a child.
“When students come to school and they’re hungry or they’re feeling tired because they couldn’t sleep because they were hungry, it takes away their ability to access the curriculum and be successful,” Woodward said.
By the numbers:
It is estimated that 40% of the more than 900,000 SNAP recipients in Arizona are children. Regardless of the outcome in Washington D.C., the district says any child who is on free or reduced lunch will continue to get those meals at school.
“Even given the freeze, the important thing to remember is that our kids who are eligible for those SNAP benefits we still see them as being income eligible within our school district,” Dave Priniski, Director of State and Federal Programs said. “So they and their families will be taken care of in terms of free meals for the remainder of the year in Scottsdale schools.”
The food drive will last until the end of the year, but it’s teaching kids life lessons.
“It makes me feel happy (to donate), but also to think about that they can’t afford food it makes me sad,” Teahen said.
“If they have food they can really focus on just being a normal kid instead of focusing on how to survive,” Johnson said.
“Our motto is again, if there’s a need we will do all we can to fill it,” Woodward said.
The school district also has a partnership with United Food Bank, and the next food box distribution will happen on November 6th at the Oak Campus.
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