Shutdown hits the dinner table

We the people have to eat ... Beef sounds good ... And a sledgehammer, you say?

Morning, readers!

The shutdown showdown over SNAP benefits continues — with some hope on the horizon.

Intern Alysa spent her Saturday volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul’s food bank, and she’s delivering today’s update on where things stand and how you can help.

Also, these buttons help us spread the gospel of donating to food banks.

The future of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — SNAP — is still hanging by a thread.

The country has entered day three of its freeze on food assistance as the government shutdown drags on. Lines at food distribution centers have already wrapped down the block as people stock up for what could be a food-scarce month. The stalemate in Congress doesn’t have an end in sight, and therefore, no plan to provide food assistance through the end of the month.

Two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration’s decision to hold back $6 billion in contingency funds violates federal law. Still, they’ve given the administration until the end of the day to announce its plan.

Arizona was one of 25 Democrat-led states that sued the White House for withholding food assistance funds. Attorney General Kris Mayes took to Twitter to celebrate her participation in the lawsuit — but didn’t mention what will happen come today.

Even if the Trump administration complies with the federal ruling and starts using contingency funds, they’re short about $2 billion to make it to the end of November. The contingency funds are only meant to cover a short federal shutdown, but neither side seems to be budging.

The administration is expected to answer at least some questions by the end of the day, but experts warned no one should expect a quick solution.

While politicians continue to use access to food and healthcare as a pawn, local food banks have had to pick up the slack and prepare for an uncertain future.

“I’ll admit, we’re in true crisis mode over here,” Ashley St. Thomas, the director of public policy for the Arizona Food Bank Network, said.

In Arizona, over 800,000 people use food assistance programs. In the Arizona Food Bank Network newsletter titled “We haven’t seen anything like this,” the group warns that its expected influx will be like nothing they’ve ever experienced during past moments of crisis.

“We’re working to respond. Food banks are speaking to each other, gathering resources, and enacting plans to scale operations. But when for every meal a food bank provides, SNAP provides almost five, it’s a daunting task,” the organization wrote. “Even the best resourced and equipped business would struggle with a five-fold increase in customers with little to no notice. Serving this many people through the emergency food network is truly unimaginable. We’ve never seen it before.”

Luckily, the government’s finger-pointing and weaponization of basic goods have really brought together communities.

On the first day of the SNAP freeze, intern Alysa volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul and saw a glimmer of hope firsthand.

While the sun was coming up, around 30 volunteers gathered to package meats, fruits and snacks. Families were already lining up in their cars to collect a variety of foods that, ideally, will last two weeks.

In two hours, St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix gave food to over 200 families.

But, given 15% of Arizonans are on a food assistance program — including one in four children — there’s a lot left to do.

Even Gov. Katie Hobbs made an appearance at a food bank.

Last week, Hobbs announced she had scrounged up $1.8 million in ARPA funds to help food banks handle the wave of need. But that’s only about $2 per person on SNAP.

And even if the Trump administration starts the contingency funds immediately, it will take time for the money to reach Arizonans.

So as the shutdown drags on, here’s how you can support those with uncertain food access, or how to get food yourself.

Help the community

The Arizona Food Bank Network has some recommendations for how to help, including:

• Donate funds to AzFBN, food banks and smaller food pantries because funds donated typically go further (dollar for dollar) than food donations do.

• Call your lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate.

• Share food with your network (because preventing people from needing to visit a food bank will help people who don’t have support systems).

• Start a small “give or get” pantry in your neighborhood.

• Volunteer at a food bank or food distribution site.

Looking for food?

If you’re one of the nearly 42 million Americans who use SNAP, here are some places offering assistance while the government figures out how long they can politicize food.

Phoenix

• St. Mary’s Food Bank

• St. Vincent de Paul

• Phoenix Rescue Mission

• Harvest Compassion Center

• Mom’s Pantry

• Salvation Army

West Valley

• Vineyard Church North Phoenix in Glendale and Surprise

• Valley View Community Food Bank in Sun City

• St. Mary’s Food Bank in Surprise

• St. Vincent de Paul in El Mirage

East Valley

• United Food Bank in Mesa

• Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank in Chandler

• St. Vincent de Paul in Mesa

Beyond the Valley

• Foothills Food Bank in Cave Creek and Black Canyon City area

• St. Mary’s Food Bank in Chinle

• AzFBN Find a Food Bank

• Find Help — Food Pantry

Free-ish market: Two big agricultural groups in Arizona are asking the Trump administration to pull back on the plan to import beef from Argentina, the Capitol Times’ Jamar Younger reports. The Arizona Farm Bureau and the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association say ranchers are already dealing with high costs, drought and a historically low number of cattle, not to mention “government involvement in the free market never ends well.” At the same time, federal agriculture officials are increasing grazing rights and other measures to give ranchers a boost.

Don’t look at us: A backlog of complaints from Arizonans who are having trouble getting unemployment benefits isn’t the fault of the state’s new benefits tool, Gov. Katie Hobbs says. It’s because federal funding cuts pushed the state to lay off hundreds of employees, per KJZZ’s Wayne Schutsky. The hassle with getting unemployment benefits comes as thousands of Arizonans might see their food assistance dry up during the federal shutdown.

If you’re not first, you’re last: Hobbs brought her “Arizona First” campaign to Tucson on Saturday, the Capitol Times’ Reagan Priest reports. It was one of the first events of Hobbs’ re-election campaign and she took shots at her Republican opponents for walking in lockstep with President Donald Trump. Hobbs also focused her remarks on state issues to highlight the fact that two of the Republican candidates, U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, have been working at the federal level for the past decade and the third candidate, Karrin Taylor Robson, has never held elected office.

Academic debate: The Wall Street Journal editorial board was aghast at emails sent by University of Arizona professors after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. The emails, obtained by a researcher in Arizona, dive deep into the disagreement among faculty and administrators over how to address anti-Semitism, apartheid, genocide and other issues.

Is the first week free?: Arizona Public Service is going to offer a subscription model for data center operators that want to use APS’ new gas power plant, KJZZ’s Greg Hahne reports. In light of residential customers’ concerns that data centers will use up too much electricity, the companies would pay some of the upfront costs for building the 2,000-megawatt Desert Sun Power Plant, in return for rights to use some of the energy generated by the plant.

Our subscription model is a lot cheaper than renting a power plant.

To spy or not to spy?: The controversial Flock surveillance cameras in Flagstaff aren’t going away any time soon, per the Daily Sun’s Sam McLaughlin. The Flagstaff City Council held a four-hour public discussion about the cameras last week as they debated whether to renew a contract with Flock Safety. They’re leaning toward renewing the contract, but with limits designed to protect privacy.

In other, other news

State officials warn that the deepfake video that Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers posted about Hobbs is the first of many more deepfakes to come, and officials aren’t sure what to do about it (Reagan Priest / Capitol Times)... U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly says he’s starting to feel optimistic about cutting a deal on the expiring healthcare subsidies (Nick Rommel / AZPM) … The mayor of Peoria, Jason Beck, is selling his tactical gear company for $150 million (Elena Santa Cruz / Republic) … Scottsdale business owners are upset about $150,000 the city paid for the local Día de los Muertos celebration (Tom Scanlon / Scottsdale Progress).

Please direct your eyeballs to this paragraph from the Painted Desert Tribune’s Linda Kor about last week’s Holbrook City Council meeting.

“As last week’s meeting of the Holbrook City Council was about to begin, Councilmember Robert Black entered the chambers with a sledgehammer, a heavy hammer used for forceful tasks like demolition, breaking rocks, or shaping metal, which he took with him up to his seat on the dais. When asked to show what he’d brought, he lifted the tool and responded, ‘The Mayor has her gavel, I have mine.’ Council appeared puzzled and attempted to make light of the demonstration. It was later learned that Black bringing the tool brought discomfort to staff and council alike.”

We’d also like to flag this story about a runaway emu in Cottonwood, mostly just to offer kudos to AZFamily’s Lauren Kobley for getting this line past an editor.

“Some may say it was a real emu-gency!”