PHOENIX — Arizona's largest food bank is gearing up for a surge in demand, as the government shutdown threatens to cut off food stamps for hundreds of thousands of Arizonans on Nov. 1.

The Friday morning lines at St. Mary's Food Bank were long and getting longer.

“I need something to eat. Prices are way too high,” said Darrrell Shepherd of Phoenix, as he waited for his food box in the cab of his pickup.

But within days, the boxes could be the only food source for hundreds of thousands of Arizonans.

“I don't know what we'll do without it if it really happens,” said Ernestine Pena of Phoenix

By Nov. 1, 850,000 low-income Arizonans won't receive benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program —also known as food stamps— unless the government shutdown ends.

“Food is

See Full Page