Food Assistance

Chicanos Por La Causa

We believe in human dignity.

Everyone deserves the power to live a meaningful life. Unfortunately, structural inequities create barriers for too many, closing off opportunities and fueling injustice. Our programs give individuals and families a seat at the table.

We facilitate growth through five Areas of Impact:

. Health & Human Services
. Housing
. Education
. Economic Development
. Advocacy

Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) was formed in 1969 to fight discrimination against the Mexican American community. Inspired by Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, we advocated for equity in education, politics, and labor conditions. Today, CPLC provides services to people of all backgrounds while honoring our Mexican-American roots.

With offices in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, we impact more than 2 million lives every year.

Shelter Services:

24-hour hotline: 602-269-1515

M.A.G. Food Pantry

Sponsored by the Maricopa Assembly of God.

Nutrition Assistance

What Is Nutrition Assistance?

Nutrition Assistance (formerly the Food Stamp Program) is Arizona’s program for the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Nutrition Assistance provides eligible households with monthly benefits they can use to purchase nutritious food. By helping families fight food insecurity and meet one of their fundamental needs, they can focus on overcoming barriers to self-sufficiency.

Salvation Army - Corps Community Center

The Salvation Army provides a wide range of elderly care and support options.

The Salvation Army passionately invites senior citizens into relationships with others through our many senior centers and eldercare programs. To help combat the loneliness, depression, and loss of independence that often accompany old age, we provide group dining experiences, coordinate activities, visit the homebound, and offer residential assistance for older adults in need of a senior living community.

Activities:

The Salvation Army works to stimulate the minds and bodies of older adults via educational opportunities, low-impact exercise, dances, lunches, fellowship, and countless other "young at heart" activities.

Residences:

To help ease the functional transitions associated with advanced age, we offer housing assistance and living quarters for the elderly - each cultivated with a loving atmosphere of help, kindness, and acceptance.

Adult Day Care Centers:

Because the mental and physical disabilities associated with old age impact both the elderly and their loved ones, The Salvation Army offers adult day care facilities. Here, older adults unable to independently care for themselves enjoy friendship, kindness, and monitored activities while their caretakers enjoy a much-needed break.

Arizona Department of Economic Security

Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES)

DES works with families, community organizations, advocates and state and federal partners to realize our collective vision that every child, adult, and family in Arizona will be safe and economically secure.

DES works to promote enhanced safety and well-being for Arizonans by focusing on three primary goals:

Strengthening individuals and families

Increasing self-sufficiency

Developing the capacity of communities

Whether you are an individual who needs help, a potential employee passionate about helping others, or a part of the extensive network of human service professionals throughout Arizona dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families, we look forward to working with you to create a better tomorrow by providing support today.

Area Agency on Aging, Region V (Pinal/Gila Counties)

Incorporated in 1974, Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens (PGCSC) is a non-profit organization designated as the Area Agency on Aging for Region V, which encompasses Pinal and Gila counties.

PGCSC’s mission is to assist seniors and persons with disabilities in Region V achieve and maintain self-sufficiency with dignity and offer choices of appropriate care by providing a wide range of community and home-based services.

PGCSC also represents the interests of the elderly and acts to advocate for change in public and private attitudes, policies, and regulations.

PGCSC provides a wide variety of services for seniors, persons with disabilities, and caregivers. These services are offered directly or through a network of provider agencies.

The focus of services offered is to help older adults continue to live independently in their own homes.

2-1-1 Arizona (877-211-8661)

We connect you to the resources you need.

2-1-1 Arizona transforms lives by linking individuals and families to vital community services throughout Arizona.

We are trusted, local, nonprofit organization providing you with access to 35,000+ community resources including housing, health, food, employment services and so much more.

You can contact 2-1-1 (or 877-211-8661) if you have questions about:

• Human Services
• Health Needs
• Emergency Food
• Crisis Counseling
• Rental Assistance
• Mental Health
• Legal Assistance
• Financial Assistance
• Disability Resources
• Support Groups
• Community and Government Services
• Volunteering and Donating
• Utility Assistance

Or other assistance you may need.

Also, see the Assistance for Economically Disadvantaged, Elderly and/or Homebound category for more information and resources.

FREE 24/7/365 CONFIDENTIAL

COPA Closet

Copa Closet, is a resource of basic needs for K-12 students that is sponsored by Maricopa Unified School District. The program is operated by Amber Liermann, a Maricopa High School counselor who operates the program with the help of volunteers which includes the AFROTC program on campus. They provide the basic needs to students, which includes food, clothes, hygiene products, and school supplies.

How to Access SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Benefits

"If you’re on a fixed income and see costs keep going up, or if you’re struggling to make ends meet on a tight budget, you are not alone. AARP Foundation can connect you with resources and assistance to help you stretch your grocery budget. Assistance is available for adults of all ages through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides participants with a credit card-like card (EBT card) for making purchases at grocery stores and some farmers markets. Millions of older adults use SNAP to afford the food they need each month and AARP Foundation wants to make it easier to apply and enroll."

Check out this AARP website to learn more about SNAP and see if you qualify for assistance.

Maricopa Pantry

History

Founded by Mountain View Community Church in 2004 to fulfill a need in our community MVCC Foodbank was born. In 2015 MVCC foodbank was struggling to find funding and food for the growing needs of the community.

Jim and Alice Shoaf founded Maricopa Pantry to help subsidize and fund the small foodbank. Since then, it has grown into the second largest food bank in Pinal County.

Mission

We focus on making the maximum positive effort for our community. Our members and volunteers provide the momentum that helps us affect change. Using all means necessary to provide food and funding for other small foodbanks. Building a model for how food banks should be run and how working together as a community we can fight hunger in our local communities.

Community Food Bank

We are a registered 501c3 non-profit food bank giving food & essential needs assistance outside of Maricopa, AZ.

We take donations from local businesses and use them to fight hunger. Help us connect with donors and with people in need. This is a community food bank, and it takes a community to make this food pantry work.

Our Distribution

Our food distributions are every Saturday from 8-11 am. There are no requirements to receive food or volunteer your time with us.

We typically serve between 1,400 and 1,500 families weekly. It takes between 50 and 60 volunteers to pull it off. Join us any Saturday from 7am until 1pm or any time in between those hours.

Pinal's People: Maricopa Pantry founder strives to help those who need it.

"MARICOPA — For Jim Shoaf, the value — and his sole focus — of giving back comes from the help it gives.

“I’ve told a lot of people, even my wife, that everybody thinks about when they get to heaven, they want to stand before God and they want him to say ‘well done, my good and faithful servant,’” said Shoaf, cracking a small smile, on a Friday afternoon. “I’ve got a feeling that when I go before God, he’s going to look at me and say, ‘what in the world were you thinking?’”

"Still, it’s evident that helping others and serving God are two things Shoaf is deeply committed to. And, as the founder and CEO of Maricopa Pantry Food Bank and an elder at Mountain View Community Church, he spends much of his days doing exactly that."

"Still, it’s evident that helping others and serving God are two things Shoaf is deeply committed to. And, as the founder and CEO of Maricopa Pantry Food Bank and an elder at Mountain View Community Church, he spends much of his days doing exactly that.

“That’s the only thing I can give to my king is my time,” he said."

This July 2023 article from the Maricopa Monitor by staff writer ROFIDA KHAIRALLA helps to capture some of the uniqueness of humility and generosity of this caring man. Truly a gift to our community. If you don't know anything about this man, take a moment to learn a bit. He is a community treasure.

The Society of St. Vincent DePaul

The Society of We're All in This Together

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul harnesses the power of community and partnerships to feed, clothe, house and heal individuals and families in our community who have nowhere else to turn for help. As important, SVdP provides meaningful opportunities for volunteers to serve their neighbors in need with love and compassion.

Get Help:

Whether you need food, clothing, shelter, medical care or general assistance, we are here for you.

Services:

. Hot Meals & Food Baskets
. Rent and Utility Bill Assistance
. Shelter & Weather Relief
. Basic Needs for Unhoused Individuals
. Education and Mentorship
. Medical Care
. Dental Care

Community Action Human Resources Agency (CAHRA)

Community Action Human Resources Agency (CAHRA) is a private, non-profit corporation providing for the identified needs of people and communities of Pinal County. CAHRA builds firm foundations in partnership with communities by stimulating family cohesiveness and self-reliance.

Case Management Program - low-income household issues

Dreamcatcher Program - homeless with children subsidized transitional housing

Weatherization and minor home repairs

Home Alone Safe Alone Emergency Pendants (when available)

Utility assistance

Rental assistance

Adult incontinence products program

F.O.R. Maricopa Food Bank and Resource Center

F.O.R. (Food, Opportunity and Resources) Maricopa has been in existence since 2007, making an immediate impact in a city founded in 2003 that saw its population and needs explode in just a few short years.

What began as an effort to feed and aid just a few families – first out of the trunks of cars via home delivery and then by pickup at a local grocery store parking lot – has evolved into a full-fledged resource center and food bank.

Distribution days are Mondays from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and Thursdays from 5:00– 7:30 p.m.

Arizona Self Help

The Arizona Self Help website was created and is managed by the Arizona Community Action Association (ACAA), a statewide 501(c)3 nonprofit which advocates, educates, and partners to prevent and alleviate poverty. Learn more at wildfireaz.org.

The Arizona Community Action Association (ACAA) was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1967 in response to a need for a statewide forum to address issues relating to poverty.

The mission of the ACAA is to promote economic self-sufficiency for low-income people through collaborations which strengthen, represents and promote Arizona's Community Action Agencies.

Program Descriptions

Arizona Self Help knows about the programs listed below. Arizona Self Help can tell you whether your family might be able to get help from any of these programs:

Child and Family Resources
Financial Benefits
Health Care
Jobs and Employment Directions
Clothing and Diaper Banks
Food and Nutrition
Housing and Utilities
Seniors and Disability Services