St. Mary's Food Bank

St. Mary's Food Bank serves to alleviate hunger through the gathering and distribution of food while encouraging self-sufficiency, collaboration, advocacy and education.

St. Mary's Food Bank is truly a community-based organization. Individual donors, corporate donors, and private grants help feed hungry individuals and families in our area. Serving two-thirds of Arizona's 15 counties, we are committed to volunteerism, building community relationships and improving the quality of life
for Arizonans in need.

Serving 13 of Arizona's 15 counties, the organization is committed to volunteerism, building community relationships and improving the quality of life for Arizonans in need. By partnering with 534 Arizona agencies, the Food Bank is able to distribute food to 700 sites. Keeping pace with the incredible upturn in need that has followed the poor economic climate and the huge rise in unemployment and underemployment, the Food Bank will distribute more than 65 million pounds of food in 2008-09 to meets the needs of the ever-rising number of Arizona's hungry - providing enough food into the community to provide nearly 300,000 meals per day.

How do we tackle hunger in Arizona? With your support, we offer an array of programs designed to relieve hunger. We assist by distributing food to food pantries, dining halls, homeless shelters, and more. Our childhood hunger programs include delivering hot and cold after-school meals and backpacks of food for children to take home for weekends. Nearly one in three children in Arizona lives in poverty and is at risk of going to bed hungry tonight. Our Community Kitchen program is a life skills and food service training program for those with barriers to employment. Adult students gain skills and obtain jobs that offering livable wages and benefits. During the past decade, the Community Kitchen has provided thousands of meals to those in need, while transforming the lives of countless participants and families.

In our fiscal year ended June 2017, we distributed 86 million pounds of food which equates to providing food enough for 300,000 meals daily. Within those 86 million pounds of food are 6,000 weekly cold and hot meals for children. Our strategic plan for the future includes expanding to 125 million pound of food distributed annually by 2021. Our success solely relies on the generosity and compassion of our supporter, both food and funds, and our wonderful volunteers.Our strategic plan for the future includes expanding to 125 million pound of food distributed annually by 2021. Our success solely relies on the generosity and compassion of our supporter, both food and funds, and our wonderful volunteers.