2024 Anti-Hunger Advocacy Day Recap
On Wednesday, February 21st, LAMA joined our coalition partners from the Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance at the Arizona State Capitol! We gathered to advocate for hunger-relief policies and to raise awareness about the current realities of hunger in our state.
We were joined by many friends, including the Arizona Faith Network (AFN), Pinnacle Prevention, the Arizona Food Bank Network (AzFBN), and WHEAT. AFN’s rev. ellie hutchison emceed the day, leading us in discussion and learning, and included a poignant and beautiful land acknowledgement from Cher Thomas of the Akimel O’Odham people.
LAMA Director Solveig Muus, Hunger Advocacy Fellow Autumn Byars, and LAMA Policy Council member Melanie Hobden
Speakers for the day included Rep. Tim Dunn (LD25), who has sponsored multiple bills that LAMA has supported through the years, including this year’s hopeful overturn of the felon SNAP ban, HB 2054; Rep. Nancy Gutierrez (LD18), who introduced this year’s bill funding school meals for all, HB 2794; Dr. Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, Professor of Nutrition at ASU; Stephanie Miller, a parent and social worker from Flowing Wells United School District, in the Tucson area; Melissa Harvey, the public policy and legislative chair for the School Nutrition Association Arizona (SNAAZ) and Madison Elementary School District; Lupe Conchas, founding AzAHA member formerly of Bread for the World, and Khalil Rushdan from AZ Village Network and AFN.
A host of legislators and Capitol staff broke bread with us, sharing lunch and meeting with constituents. A big thank you goes out to everyone who made time in their very busy schedules for us! AzFBN made sure each table was provided with information sheets, breaking hunger data down by district, so that lawmakers and participants were able to familiarize themselves with average household income, SNAP participation, and food insecurity rates in their areas. Lunch was provided by St. Mary’s Food Bank’s CK Catering.
AzAHA in the House gallery, with Rep. Jennifer Pawlik
Activate Food Arizona’s Farm Express Shuttle also joined us for the day, parking in front of the Capitol building. The Farm Express shuttle exists as a mobile produce market to help bring fresh, affordable produce to areas of the valley with limited access to fresh food, and on Wednesday, they gave us the opportunity to learn about their work, including the ways geography can impact hunger, and provide us with fresh produce!
We were introduced in both the House and Senate galleries; a special thanks is owed to Rep. Patty Contreras and Sen. Mitzi Epstein for taking the time to introduce us to their collogues and raise awareness about our priorities within the government chambers.
Scroll through our photo highlights from the day! Click here for more great photos.
Thank you to everyone who joined us!
