By Howard Fischer | Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Gov. Katie Hobbs allocates $1.8 million to help Arizonans losing food stamp benefits
- $1.5 million will be divided among food banks across the state to meet increased demand
- Arizona officials are suing the USDA to access $5 billion-$6 billion in contingency funds
Gov. Katie Hobbs is allocating $1.8 million from leftover federal COVID funds to help the nearly 900,000 Arizonans who won’t receive food stamp benefits in November due to a federal government shutdown.
In a prepared announcement on Oct. 29, the governor said $1.5 million of that will be divided up among food banks across the state which are expected to be hard hit once the benefits dry up.
Hobbs acknowledged that it is just a fraction of the more than $161 million that now goes to Arizonans. It also compares with the $45 million in donations that St. Mary’s Food Bank, the largest in the state, already receives.
