Sahuarita Food Bank and Community Resource Center provides wide-ranging services for Southern Arizona
Updated: 3 days ago
By Mira Preston
The Sahuarita Food Bank and Community Resource Center (SFB-CRC) opened its doors more than 15 years ago after the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona saw the need for food in Sahuarita and nearby communities and met with a local group to start a small pantry. Today, SFB-CRC — now its own, standalone nonprofit — has expanded into a wide-ranging community center that serves over 4,000 families a year in Southern Arizona.
13.8% of people in Pima County live in poverty, according to U.S. Census data, compared with 10.4% of people in Maricopa County. Lack of affordable housing and employment opportunities, food insecurity, and lack of access to reliable transportation also present challenges for Southern Arizona, according to Carlos Valles, Executive Director of SFB-CRC.
What started as a food bank run out of the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Sahuarita has seen multiple expansions since it served its first family in 2009. In 2015, they added the community resource center, and in 2022 they opened a brand-new campus. SFB-CRC offers programs such as nutrition, financial literacy, and English and Spanish classes, as well as a family resource center that provides parents of young children with fun activities and workshops.
Mayra Ramos, a working mother, said that she came to SFB-CRC when she was looking for support, resources and opportunities to help her son learn and grow. “We didn’t know exactly what to expect,” she said, “but from the beginning, we felt welcomed and treated with kindness and respect.”
Ramos’s mother, Irma, looks after her son Luca while Mayra is at work, and the shared campus between SFB-CRC’s Family Resource Center and the community food bank means that Irma is able to access adult programming and other resourc
es while her grandson learns, plays, and builds important skills.
“The Sahuarita Family Resource Center is so much more than a place that offers early education programs,” Ramos said. “It’s a place where families build relationships, find encouragement, and discover that they’re not alone. The staff care deeply about the families they serve, and that shows in everything they do.”
In 2023, SFB-CRC became a licensed vocational school, broadening their ability to help residents break the cycle of poverty.
“The big question we get a lot is, ‘why did a food bank want to become a vocational school?’” Valles said. “Easy. We’re serving a lot of underemployed people, and a lot of them are yearning for the opportunity to earn more and stop coming to the food bank.”
SFB-CRC now offers multiple vocational programs, including forklift training, welding, masonry, Google IT certificates, and a brand-new construction training program, which have helped dozens of community members find employment and earn higher wages.
A shortage of skilled welders in the area led SFB-CRC to add their welding program, which utilizes augmented reality technology to help give students important “muscle memory” before they go on to a live welding studio. The program has already graduated 17 students who have gone on to make as much as $32 an hour, and with 42 on the waiting list, it’s SFB-CRC’s most popular job program.
SFB-CRC is far from finished with their expansion, and their recent initiatives involve mobilizing and meeting community members around the county. These initiatives include Project Azul, a mobile unit that connects rural communities with resources such as a GED classes, English classes, and a health and nutrition program; ROJO (Rolling Out Job Opportunities), which brings their welding program to different communities; and the Saguaro Food Truck Academy, which teaches aspiring entrepreneurs how to run a food business.
With future developments in mind — such as a “maker space” with a retail component for welding students — SFB-CRC has plenty more ideas for helping community residents break out of the cycle of poverty, but their doors are always open to those who may rely on their food bank services permanently.
“We’re here for people during difficult times whether you need us once, or you need us forever,” Valles said.
To learn more about the Sahuarita Food Bank and Community Resource Center, visit https://www.SahuaritaFoodBank.org/
Images courtesy of the Sahuarita Food Bank and Community Resource Center
