September is Hunger Action Month! PHOENIX (AZFamily) - “In today’s world, there’s no reason why anyone should ever go to bed hungry,” said Nancy Keane of Albertsons and Safeway at the start of our annual campaign to end hunger in Arizona. While that may be true, it’s unfortunately not the reality for nearly 1 million Arizona families facing food insecurity and dealing with hunger. The need is greater than most people realize. With the rising costs of living, many Arizona families are struggling to make ends meet. According to Feeding America, nearly 1.1 million Arizonans are facing food insecurity and hunger. More than 291,000 of them are children. That works out to 1 in 7 people and 1 in 5 children struggling with hunger. It’s likely that someone you know is having a tough time. That’s why Arizona’s Family is teaming up with Safeway and Albertsons stores to help St. Vincent de Paul Feed Arizona Families. September is Hunger Action Month St. Vincent de Paul is a lifeline for those families — our friends and neighbors — and is busier than ever. Every day, it serves 5,000 hot meals through its four charity dining rooms and in conjunction with more than 30 community partners throughout the Valley. 5,000 hot meals. Every day. St. Vincent de Paul’s vital work is the difference between going to bed hungry and waking up nourished enough to make it through another day. Another week. Another month. Another year. Single mom of five Rose Burney knows that first-hand. “They are definitely lifesavers for sure,” she tearfully told Arizona’s Family Community Anchor Susan Casper when they connected last summer at St. Vincent de Paul’s NextPhase Family Dining Room in Phoenix. It’s one of four dining rooms St. Vincent de Paul runs. Rose and her kids are frequent guests at the dining room, enjoying restaurant-style meals. “Coming here in the evening time and being able to provide that hot meal for the kids is just amazing,” she said. in 2024, St. Vincent de Paul served 3.34 million meals and delivered 189,000 emergency food boxes to homes across central and Northern Arizona. It also distributed 7.85 million pounds of food through its Central Food Bank and harvested 27,000 pounds of fresh produce from its Urban Farms. St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix is the largest operation of its kind in the world, according to SVdP spokesman Cande de Leon. But it’s not just about nourishing people’s bodies. St. Vincent de Paul nourishes their spirits, too, in accordance with its four-pillar mission. Feed. Clothe. House. Heal. “How we nurture that is by things like the Dream Center, and playing chess, and having tutors here that are doing homework, or having a medical and dental clinic available, or a thrift store where they go and buy affordable clothes,” de Leon explained. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about the person.” Rose said the people who make St. Vincent de Paul the wonderful and welcoming organization that it is are simply amazing. She’s grateful for them every day.

“Being able to come here and get resources like diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies, back-to-school supplies, shoes – there’s an endless amount of help that I can get from here,” she said. “If it weren’t for the people donating and helping, I don’t know how I would be able to get through the whole month feeding the kids.” Rose’s story is familiar to tens of thousands of Arizonans. Many are living some version of it, never quite sure if they’ll be able to put a hot meal on the table for their children. “Families are making impossible choices between paying the rent, paying that utility bill, putting food on the table,” explained Shannon Clancy, the CEO of St. Vincent de Paul. “This campaign is really important to give our community a chance to support those families.” St. Vincent de Paul offers extensive support to Arizona families in need, but nothing is more important than putting food on their table. It’s the foundation on which they build everything. “That core source of support is food because we need it every day,” Clancy said. “In order for kids to be able to learn in school, in order for people to be able to do well at work, we have to be fed. Food is the stabilizer, and that’s something that we can all help with.” Because ending hunger in Arizona is a primary mission for Albertsons and Safeway, they make it easy for shoppers to provide that help. “We just need to unite as a community and stand up for families and individuals in need right now – and always,” Keane said. Ending hunger in Arizona is a foundational goal for Albertsons and Safeway -- one they work toward with everything they do every day. Part of that is teaming up with Arizona’s Family for the Feed Arizona Families initiative. The goal is to raise $1 million for St. Vincent de Paul by the end of this month. All of that money will stay in Arizona. You can donate at the register when you shop at any Albertsons or Safeway store in Arizona. When paying for your groceries at the register, a simple question will pop up on the PIN pad. “Would you like to donate to keep local families nourished?” You can choose a preset donation of $1, $3, or $5, or you can enter any amount you like. That figure will be added to your grocery bill. There are also change jars at every register and collection boxes at the front of every store. Every food donation is helpful, and every penny makes a difference. Organizations like St. Vincent de Paul are experts at stretching your dollars and working miracles for Arizona families in need. There are more than 130 Albertsons and Safeway stores in Arizona -- from Page all the way down to Yuma -- and all of the money raised stays here to help families in our communities. Find an Albertsons near you | Find a Safeway near you If you get your groceries delivered, you can donate online directly to St. Vincent de Paul .