PHOENIX — Thousands of residents came to Barrios Unidos Park in South Phoenix to receive a free Thanksgiving Turkey.
"We start at 9 a.m. today. There were people waiting at 5:30 in the morning. That tells us the need for these families this Thanksgiving day," Lety Garcia, the CEO of Prensa Arizona, said.
This is the third year Prensa has sponsored the Turkey giveaway. In 2022, it distributed 3,000 turkeys. This year's total is expected to exceed that.
The park is located in one of the areas with the highest rate of food insecurity in the city.
"Food insecurity is a big issue that I'm tackling through the different programs I oversee for Chicanos Por la Causa," Roberto Del Real, the Director of Community Services for Chicanos Por La Causa, said.
Del Real oversees food distribution and nutrition programs for Chicanos Por La Causa in Phoenix and Tucson. He says demand for food has doubled in the last year.
"People are asking for more — for bigger quantities. I imagined it would decrease but it hasn't. It's actually the opposite."
The Arizona Food Bank Network reports one in ten Arizonans struggle with food insecurity. The lines this week leading up to Thanksgiving are evidence of that.
According to the Arizona Food Bank Network, 751,690 people suffer from food insecurity in Arizona, and 226,080 are children.
"I oversee all these programs and I'm feeding all these people. I honestly feel bad at times. I don't feel it's enough," Del Real said.
High food prices are a major factor, but Del Real says Kroger is helping. The grocery store is providing grant money to Chicanos Por La Causa so it can give $100 food gift cards to families in need. This year, the grant is $15,000.
