Dear Faith and Community Leaders,
The latest data indicates there are over 900,000 Arizonans who needed emergency and supplemental food bank assistance in the last 12 months. Member Food Banks of the Association of Arizona Food Banks are concerned that many people who may qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] (formerly Food Stamps), are currently hesitating to apply because of the fear they feel as a result of recent legislation passed in Arizona that could jeopardize some or all members of their family.
Over the last month, I’ve learned there are many faith and community based groups who are interested and willing to provide a “safe haven” for these households to apply for the benefits for which some or all of their family may qualify in your trusted environments. You may have been among this group, or your name may have been suggested to me by another person to whom I spoke.
Therefore, I am pleased to invite you to attend the first of two meetings for faith and community based groups in Maricopa County to explore this possibility. The two hour meeting will be held Thursday, June 10th at 10 a.m. at Neighborhood Ministries, 1929 W. Fillmore St., Phoenix.
This first meeting will accomplish several things:
- Specifically provide an overview of the status of the situation in Maricopa County;
- Review the background of where the gaps are in terms of the SNAP application process for immigrant households;
- Identify various options your organization could choose to take to fill one or more of the gaps;
- Explain what your organization may need to have in place, in order to offer one or more of the options; and
- Review resources you could literally begin using immediately to help people find assistance in the trusted environment of faith and community-based organizations.
At this meeting, there will be local, state and national experts present to tell you how this could be done in the most effective way possible.
I hope you will seriously consider attending this meeting, in order to see if this is a good fit for your organization. If you cannot attend this time, there will be other meetings scheduled over the summer months.
Please send your confirmation to attend, or your desire to participate in a future meeting, to me by email at ghildebrand@azfoodbanks.org or give me a call at my office at 602-528-3434 by June 8th to reserve your seat, so we can be assured of having enough chairs and materials to share with all who attend.
I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, June 10th at 10 a.m.
Sincerely,
Ginny Hildebrand
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Ginny Hildebrand
President/CEO
Association of Arizona Food Banks
2100 N. Central Avenue, Suite 230
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1400
office: 602.528.3434 ext. 13
fax: 602.528.3838
toll free: 1.800.455.1914
ghildebrand@azfoodbanks.org | www.azfoodbanks.org
Our Vision: A Hunger-Free Arizona!
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