Arizona food banks need your help!

As you may have heard, thousands of Arizonans have lost jobs as a result of the recent collapse in the housing market. As you may be able to guess, more people are seeking help from food banks, while donations to food banks are down. Meanwhile, perhaps driven in part by rising demand for corn-based ethanol to fuel our cars, food prices have increased dramatically in the last year. So Arizona’s food banks desperately need your help with a donation of money or food. You can find a food bank to which you can donate here.

Also, if you live in Tucson, you can actually save money on your groceries while helping put more money into food services for those who are hungry. The Value Foods grocery store located at the Community Food Bank (3003 S. Country Club) is a small grocery store open to people of all income levels that sells deeply discounted groceries. None of the items are donated, dinged, or dented. Having non-profit status and working with the same providers who serve Sheriff Joe’s jails, they are able to pass along savings of 30-70% compared to regular grocery stores, yet still operate in the black. As a non-profit, any money they make is reinvested into helping feed the hungry. So save some money while doing good by your community. The two are not mutually exclusive!