Living with hunger

For many hard-working Arizona families, food insecurity is a daily reality. In fact, one in four children go to bed hungry every night because their parents must make the difficult decision between paying their bills and buying groceries.

Nicky, a mother of four, found herself in this situation recently after the family suffered a heartbreaking loss. “My husband passed away, so there was a bit of a struggle,” she said. “It was hard. I was uncertain about a lot of things—bills, food.”

This is an all-too-common scenario with the working poor, those who have jobs but don’t earn enough to cover their living expenses. “These are individuals who are trying to get out there and make money to support their families, but unfortunately the money they are making is not enough to meet their daily needs,” said Javier Zayas-Bazan, M.D., a physician at HonorHealth Heuser Family Medicine.

Thanks to the generosity of its donors, HonorHealth Desert Mission Food Bank is there to provide direct support to families like Nicky’s.

“I was just able to go in and get the help I needed,” said Nicky, who is raising her children alone on top of working full time at a senior retirement home. “It’s good that [the Food Bank] is there. I can go and get a food box—we get three a month. It helps me out, but boy is it hard, especially when you have kids.”

Nicky never expected to find herself in this situation, and she is moved by the compassion that HonorHealth Desert Mission Food Bank staff show those who walk in the door for help. “You don’t know what that person’s been through, and you don’t know what they went through hours before that or the night before, where they slept,” she said. She does know that they are treated with dignity at the Food Bank, regardless of their circumstances.

Contributions to HonorHealth Foundation help ensure that the Food Bank will be there for members of the community, such as Nicky and her family, when they need it most.

“Without Desert Mission, I don’t know if I would have made it through some days or some weeks or the holidays. They’re not going to turn me away,” said Nicky.

You can support Desert Mission Food Bank and other HonorHealth programs by donating online at HonorHealth.com/foundation.

Because Desert Mission is a qualifying charitable organization, your contribution may be eligible for an Arizona Tax Credit.