PHOENIX (STN) – Food insecurity in Arizona is no longer just a conversation about hunger. It’s a growing public health crisis, a reflection of systemic inequity, and a failure of infrastructure, according to a panel of experts featured during the latest installment of ‘The Wellness Collective’ as part of the September season premiere of ‘It Happens at STN.’
The panel brought together Mercy Care CEO Tad Gary, Activate Food Arizona Executive Director Elyse Guidas, and Pinnacle Prevention Director of Community Innovation Jessie Gruner, who each stressed the urgency and complexity of the issue.
“We’re talking about 47 million Americans and 13 million children,” Gary said. “This is not just about missing meals. It impacts physical health, mental well-being, performance in school, and even how people show up to work.”
Mercy Care, local leaders push bold food access solutions:
Guidas challenged the notion that food scarcity is the root issue. “We have enough food. The problem is distribution, transportation, cultural relevance, and accessibility,” she said.
Her organization’s Farm Express program sends mobile produce markets directly into communities, offering affordable, culturally appropriate produce at cost, with support from Mercy Care.
Gruner expanded the conversation, pointing out that true food security also requires reliability and dignity.
“You might have food in the fridge, but if a senior can’t cook it, they’re still food insecure,” she said. She spotlighted Double Up Food Bucks, an incentive program that doubles SNAP dollars spent on local produce, benefiting both families and Arizona’s small farmers.
Both Guidas and Gruner called for deeper investments in food infrastructure, from cold storage to transportation fleets to local farming capacity. “We lost our storage site this year,” Guidas noted. “It’s the kind of small blow that can have big consequences.”
Gary closed with a community-wide call to action: “Educate yourself. Support the programs that work. And back the people doing the work right here in Arizona.”
With rising need and an evolving food system, the panel agreed: meaningful change will take more than meals. It will require a strategic approach, adequate funding, and a collective will to act.
