Pub. 5 2015 Issue 3

S T . MARY’S FOOD BANK IS HAPPY TO PARTNER WITH THE ARIZONA BANKERS ASSOCIATION TO HOLD THE FIRST-EVER BANKERS FOOD AND CASH DRIVE TO BENEFIT THE HUNGRY CHILDREN AND FAMILIES OF OUR STATE. St. Mary’s is the world’s first food bank, and is now in its 48th year of feeding Arizonans in need. The entire concept of food banks started in Phoenix in 1967 with one man – John Van Hengel – and one idea: to rescue food and collect it from those that have it and distribute it to those who need a helping hand. Food Banks are now in 49 states, dozens of countries and across five continents. But back here in Arizona, hunger has become a bigger issue than ever with one in four children, one in five families and one in seven seniors currently at risk of going to bed hungry and not knowing where the next meal will come from. St. Mary’s distributes more than 60 million pounds of food across Arizona through a network of 300 partner agencies – boots on the ground in nine of the 15 coun- ties to give those who struggle a place to receive emergency meals and food to keep them going. The Food Bank is distributing about 300,000 emergency food boxes each year – a three to four day supply of food for a family of four – and fills those boxes through a combination of its grocery rescue program, emergency food from federal programs, surplus donations from food companies and public food donations. St. Mary’s collects more than two million pounds a year from public and corporate food drives – and organizations like the Arizona Bankers Association. Arizona has some of the worst hunger statistics in the nation. And St. Mary’s receives about 40 percent of all its donations during the holiday months of November and December, when the idea of giving is of mind. But St. Mary’s distributes enough food for more than 200,000 meals each day, so food drives during the other 10 month of the year are vital to ensure the Food Bank can say “Yes” to all clients. Nearly 50 percent of the families that use the food bank have at least one member who is currently employed. But the pay or the hours have been reduced and after paying for rent and putting gas in the car there isn’t enough left in the food budget to make it through the month. They turn to St. Mary’s to provide that bridge to get them through those rough few days between paychecks. More than 400,000 Arizona children are food insecure. Studies have shown that kids who don’t eat enough or enough of the right food struggle in school and have trouble paying attention in class. St. Mary’s provides more than 5,000 after- school meals to children “at risk” each day during the school year, and thousands of summer breakfasts and lunches at more than 100 sites. Over the years several banking institutions have made gen- erous donations of food, funds, and time toward St. Mary’s. But 2015 marks the first time the AzBA is coming together for one large-scale food drive in September to help propel the food bank into the holiday season with fuller shelves. This friendly competition will allow banking institutions to “battle” for the food drive total. Someone will win the food drive – but the big winner will be the common goal of helping the community and the families struggling to put food on the table. w AzBA Banks Give Back to the Community A Partnership Between The AzBA and St. Mary’s Food Bank 21 SUMMER 2015

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