About one in four Arizona children – nearly 435,000 youth – experience hunger or food insecurity.

Arizona ranks 10th in the nation for food insecurity and rural areas can be especially vulnerable.
As many as one in seven people in Arizona struggle with hunger.

Hormel’s “Hams for Hunger” campaign is in its 30th year. Together, with local grocers, Hormel has a goal of donating enough hams for 1 million meals this year, a step toward alleviating food insecurity across the United States.

Navajo Nation Veterans Administration provides services to approximately 11,000 Navajo Veterans and their families each year.

United Food Bank serves nearly 225,000 people every year who face food insecurity in Maricopa, Pinal, Gila and Apache counties, as well as the Navajo Nation. Approximately, 84,000 of them are children.

St. Mary’s Food Bank serves nine out of 15 counties in Arizona. Yearly, the food bank provides 97 million meals to Arizonans in need.
Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona serves nearly 155,000 people every year in Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Santa Cruz and Pima counties.

Impact: “This is such an amazing gift,” said Jim Zwierlein, Executive Director for the Navajo Nation Veterans Administration and a Marine Corps Veteran. “On behalf of the Navajo Veterans who will be receiving these hams, I would like to thank everyone at Bashas’ for reaching out to us, and for their generosity this holiday season.”

“The holidays can put a lot of pressure on families who are struggling to make ends meet,” said Michael McDonald, CEO, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. “We appreciate Bashas’ and Hormel stepping forward at this time of year to set a wonderful example of how our community can make a difference to children, families and seniors in need.”

Each ham donated will feed about four people, so for the 3,330 ham donation, that’s helping to feed 13,320 Arizonans in need this holiday season.