United Food Bank serves Arizona tribes during pandemic
Even in a year marred by tragedy and loss, Tyson Nansel can instantly point to a moment in 2020 that brought him the “ultimate joy”: It was April 23, a sunny spring day spent packing more than 60,000 pounds of food into two semitrucks.
There was fresh produce, dairy products, cereal, chicken and “25 pounds of flour here; another 25 pounds there.” All would soon make its way to the HonDah Casino on the White Mountain Indian Reservation, located about 200 miles northeast of Phoenix.
The tribe was in the midst of a threeweek lockdown due to an increase in COVID-19 cases and Nansel, who currently serves as United Food Bank’s vice president of external affairs, said as long as it was up to him, they wouldn’t go through it alone.
United Food Bank has provided hunger relief to people in the East Valley and eastern Arizona for more than three decades. As a Feeding America member food bank, they collect, store and distribute food and other resources to more than 220 partner agencies, serving over 228,000 people in five counties. In 2020 alone, Nansel estimates United Food Bank distributed more than 27 million pounds of food, or 22.5 million meals to Arizonans in need.
“A lot of food agencies weren’t able to stay open due to COVID and so the requests we were getting for food and resources was skyrocketing, especially on reservations,” Nansel said. “Luckily, we felt ready and eager to answer the call.”
The White Mountain Apache tribe at one point in early June surpassed the Navajo Nation in the total number of COVID-19 cases per capita, meaning it had one of the highest infection rates in the country. The most the tribe has ever reported in a day were 223 new cases on June 25, which was around the same time Arizona was reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases before a peak in hospitalizations. After a series of lockdowns spanning from 72 hours to three weeks, cases began to stabilize. As of Tuesday, there were zero new positive cases.
Tribal Councilmember Alvena Bush said when COVID-19 forced them to shut down the casino, “one of the main sources of (economic) sustainability for the tribe,” accessibility to resources such as food, water and personal protective equipment became challenging.
The partnership with United Food Bank provided “tremendous relief,” Bush told The Arizona Republic.
“As a Tribal Leader, it was an honor to help facilitate this partnership on behalf of my people, and to have the external partnership really meant a lot at a time when we weren’t able to provide the resources ourselves,” Bush said.
In addition to the White Mountain Apache Tribe, United Food Bank has also delivered resources to the San Carlos Apache Tribe, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tonto Apache Tribe, the Gila River Indian Community, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and more.
While United Food Bank has worked with tribes before, 2020 was the first time they began asking the tribes directly what the best way to help was.
To figure out what each tribe needs, Nansel said United Food Bank sends out a survey, in addition to speaking oneon-one with councilmembers. While most tribes request food they can’t find at local stores, others have asked for hand sanitizer and disposable masks.
“We wanted to meet their needs. We wanted to know, culturally, what foods and products do you all need to bring some hope during these uncertain times?” Nansel said. “If we have it, you bet we are going to deliver it.”
While Nansel was initially worried they wouldn’t have enough volunteers to meet the increased need, he said tribal members, including police and firefighters, often step up to help distribute food on their reservations.
“It’s amazing how healthy tribal community service members are able to help us get the job done each and every time,” he said. “We all wear our masks, gloves and get to work. It’s been such a miracle.”
Beyond giving back, Nansel said visiting various reservations has given the food bank a “more personal look” at the severity of food insecurity in Arizona.
“It’s one in four children and one in five adults on a reservation — it’s really high. No one should become a food desert and lack access to nutritious foods just because of where we live. We are seeing that up close right now and it’s very real,” Nansel said.
And it’s not just happening on reservations. Nansel said in the United Food Bank’s 35-year history, he has never seen more widespread demand across the state than what he has seen since March 2020.
“We, as an organization, have seen a recession and we have seen government shutdowns, but we have never seen a demand like this of people coming to a food bank for the first time in their lives, really needing help to go on,” he said.
Feeding America released a national analysis in October of the pandemic’s impact on food insecurity and found Maricopa County was projected to have the third-highest number of children experiencing food insecurity, at nearly 277,000, and the fourth-highest overall number of people experiencing food insecurity, at over 738,000.
For people who want to lend a helping hand, Nansel said United Food Bank is always looking for volunteers to help with daily events, such as making emergency food bags, and also accepts monetary donations. More information can be found at unitedfoodbank.org.
“We can all do a little bit right now,” Nansel said. “And when we all do a little bit, it adds up. I know what we have done here made a difference and that’s what can keep us all going.”