Shut Down by Republicans – Nearly 1 Million Arizonans Will Lose Food Aid on Saturday Nov. 1

Arizona Families at the Brink While GOP Holds the Government Hostage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 27, 2025

Contact: press@luchaaz.org

PHOENIX — A startling national warning arrived this week: 855,273 Arizonans could see their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits halted beginning Saturday if the Republican federal government shutdown continues. AZ Mirror

LUCHA will be organizing a community rally at the Phoenix DES office, located at 1717 W. Jefferson Street, to bring the community together and demand “Food on Every Table” on October 30th at 4:00 p.m. This will be the first of many actions. Thursday will mark the beginning of a food drive campaign to provide aid to those in need until Republicans reopen the government and restore the aid to Arizonans that was lost. For media interested in attending the event, RSVP by responding to the email or emailing: cesarf@luchaaz.org

Make no mistake: this crisis is a direct result of the shutdown engineered by representatives Juan Ciscomani, David Schweikert, and all other Arizona Republicans who refuse to negotiate. While working-class families face hunger, Republicans are locking in tax cuts for billionaires and slashing funding for food assistance, healthcare, and education.

The cost to Arizona is immediate and devastating:

• Thousands of rural schools and food pantries are preparing for massive demand as food stamps are delayed or canceled.

• Arizonans plagued by food deserts and rising grocery prices will be plunged into deeper hardship and uncertainty

• Families who rely on those benefits say they may soon need to choose between groceries and rent.

• Rural hospitals, already operating on thin margins, will feel ripple effects as hunger and instability drive health-care needs.

For Tre Rhodes, a Tucson native and food stamps beneficiary, the cuts are personal:

“I grew up watching my mom work two jobs while we relied on food stamps to get by,” said Rhodes. “Even today, programs like SNAP and Medicaid keep families like mine from falling through the cracks. If Republicans keep this shutdown going, people will go hungry. It’s that simple.”

“Arizona families are paying the price of this shutdown,” said Alejandra Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA. “And now Republicans are threatening to cut their food, their dignity, and their future so billionaires can keep getting richer. This is moral bankruptcy.”

Why this is happening:

• SNAP is funded by annual congressional appropriations. The current lapse — driven by GOP refusal to budge — means funds will run out unless Congress acts.

• The July tax-and-spending bill, euphemized as the Big Ugly Bill, also slashed hundreds of billions from critical programs. Axios

• Republican leaders continue to hold budget talks hostage to priorities that benefit billionaires, not working families.