GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture reported that in 2023, more than 340 thousand rural Arizonans suffered from food insecurity. Often times, rural communities are spread out and can lack reliable access to transportation.
That's why leaders in the Sahuarita Food Bank and Resource Center want to make a difference and meet families where they are physically.
Saturday, Oct. 26, the Desert Hills Lutheran Church of Green Valley gifted the food bank and their Project Azul program a $20,000 donation. Church pastor Mike Sagen said this decision was an investment to help a community partner. “We as a congregation decided we would step with them and provide resources for this area of Arizona.”
As an outreach program, Project Azul works to expand support services in isolated communities with transportation challenges. Desert Hills’ donation will allow Project Azul to maintain its mobile unit, which drives to places like Arivaca and Summit four days a week.
Carlos Valles, executive director of the Sahuarita Food Bank & Resource Center, said in many cases, neighbors drive more than 50 miles round-trip to ask for food assistance; and in these situations, Valles said families often require much more than a daily meal.
“Food is an important piece of our mission,” Valles said, “but we also want to change lives by connecting people to programs, resources, services, helping break poverty cycles.
"If you can bring in a trailer like this," Sagen said, "that can not only provide food, but a place to learn a trade or get the resources they need to be able to apply for a job or learn computer skills, it’s so critical.”
The mobile unit comes fully equipped with a classroom, private office, bathroom and high-speed satellite internet, where families and students can take English language classes, GED preparation courses, and job-seeking seminars.
Juan Arredondo is the food bank's operations manager. He said the trailer's classroom has room for ten students, to give more people outside major cities a vital opportunity.
“I know transportation can be an issue,” Arredondo said. “A lot of families are not able to go to a different location, like Tucson, Green Valley or Sahuarita.”
Project Azul often sets shop in church parking lots, creating a community hub where people and programs can connect. Summit, a small town south of Tucson, has just one grocery store and on school.
“There was nothing out in these communities,” Valles said, "so we connected with local stakeholders and they said if you can bring services to us, we can be the ambassadors. We can bring the programs to where they live and reduce the amount of time on the road.”
Pima County's resource navigator program also meets up with the Project Azul team, to give families information about rental, medical and utility assistance. For more information on Project Azul, including locations of the mobile unit, visit the Sahuarita Food Bank and Resource Center’s website.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
