The Arizona Kosher Food Pantry is the only kosher pantry in the region, ensuring kosher food is available to the sick, homeless, elderly, and those enduring hard times. The organization provides kosher “Get Well” meals to those undergoing medical procedures at local hospitals, delivers weekly meals to those who are disabled, elderly, or unable to leave their homes, and hosts a walk-in food pantry.

Food has always been at the core of the Cihuapactli Collective’s work. When COVID-19 hit, the collective reacted quickly to ensure Phoenix’s Indigenous families had nutrient-dense, ancestral foods. It partnered with Sana Sana Foods to provide Indigenous care packages with high-quality staples like beans, blue corn, coffee, and herbal teas from Indigenous farmers and producers.

Since 2009, Diana Gregory Outreach Services (DGOS) has provided healthy food and fresh produce to seniors, veterans, and their grandchildren in the Phoenix area. As a mobile produce delivery provider, DGOS fills a real need for seniors with limited income, mobility, and transportation. DGOS provides people with more than food; it offers community to seniors and veterans who otherwise lack opportunities for social connection. 

As a provider of halal food and other culturally appropriate foods, ICNA Relief fills a vital role for both Phoenix’s Muslim community and the wider community, feeding almost 1,200 families per month. It offers food distributions at its Tempe location and manages a mobile food pantry that delivers food to families across 14 sites in Phoenix.

When food insecurity became a growing problem for youth transitioning out of foster care, Jewish Family & Children's Service launched the Just 3 Things food pantry. Operating under a client-choice model, people select the foods they’d like from the pantry, ensuring what they take home meets their dietary, cultural, and dental preferences. Just 3 Things has expanded since its 2011 launch: from serving 100 foster youth a year to clients across the agency.

The Orchard Community Learning Center (OCLC) gathers growers, local farmers, and nature lovers to empower real, local food in Phoenix. During the pandemic, OCLC delivered tote bags with whole and plant-based foods and produce to community members. OCLC ultimately works to engage people in thinking more about where our food comes from and how we can connect to heritage foods. 

Once a week, Social Spin Laundromat makes its machines free, provides a free hot meal to customers, and welcomes community partners to connect people to resources. Customers receive meals from food trucks—mostly locally- and woman-owned—while they do their laundry. These Wash With Care Wednesday events are just one of the many ways in which Social Spin is rethinking how people can connect with social services.