As the holiday season commenced, many people went home to spend time with family and friends. This year, however, more individuals and families across Arizona experienced increased levels of food insecurity.
This can be attributed to last year’s congressional budget cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is a federally funded program that provides low-income families with food benefits and supplements grocery budgets to include healthy and nutritious foods.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent out a memo in November 2025 that outlined that “due to the limited availability of federal funding and orders from two federal courts, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is reducing SNAP maximum allotments to 50 percent of the eligible household’s current allotment for November 2025.”
SNAP benefits were cut in half, meaning many families and individuals would have to turn to other resources to obtain groceries and food. The memo also stated that regional and state agencies were required to take immediate action to comply with the reduction.
In addition to SNAP cuts, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education funding was completely eliminated nationwide in September of 2025. SNAP-Ed provided nutritional education to schools and other community sites across all 15 counties in Arizona.
SNAP-Ed also taught community members how to cook healthy meals and make their SNAP dollars last by partnering with both state and local organizations.
Without funding from the U.S. Congress and the USDA, “there will be fewer staff available to deliver these programs and no SNAP-Ed funds to support associated costs, such as travel, materials or site-based activities,” UA Cooperative Extension said.
Even amidst cuts to federal programs like SNAP and SNAP-Ed, school-wide programs like the University of Arizona’s Campus Pantry continue to support those impacted by food insecurity within the UA community.
UA Campus Pantry provides free supplemental groceries to staff, faculty and students to combat food insecurity on campus. Pete McGraw, Campus Pantry’s senior coordinator of basic needs, explained that 40% of students, faculty and staff struggle with food insecurity.
Campus Pantry began when a graduate student noticed that students did not have adequate access to nutritious foods and groceries. Originally, students collected and distributed donations. Today, Campus Pantry is located in the Student Union Memorial Center and open every day during the school week, providing access to food.
“We understand the negative impact that food insecurity can have on academics and we are hoping to support students and take one less thing off of their mind so they can focus on school by providing free access to groceries,” McGraw said.
The pantry averages about 80 volunteers per semester. Students take on the responsibility of ordering groceries, coordinating food drives and maintaining partnerships with organizations in the Tucson community.
“We are very proud to be student-led and student-run,” McGraw said. “They are really passionate about helping their community and helping other students mitigate factors that impact their studies negatively.”
McGraw highlighted that the Pantry is open to anyone with a CatCard, regardless of need. “Another issue we run into is stigma,” McGraw said. “We are never gonna measure your needs against others’ or explain or justify why you are here.”
With recent cuts to SNAP, Campus Pantry has seen increased levels of anxiety and stress from people who use the resource.“SNAP is a major concern for a lot of people, and we have seen an uptick in visits here as a result, and that is something we expect to continue,” McGraw said.
Students can provide support by volunteering but also by spreading the word about Campus Pantry and the services they offer daily. Campus Pantry is located on the first floor of the student union near the CatCard office. Hours of operation can be found on their social media and website.
