Arizona Gives Day

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Arizona Gives Day is a 24-hour online fundraising event held every year on the first Tuesday in April. On April 2, 2024, Arizona residents can “give it forward” by donating to local nonprofit agencies serving communities across the state.

At the beginning of this fiscal year, one of the ICS refrigerated vans used to pick up grocery rescue food and transport critical supplies to our Food Banks was vandalized. In an attempt to siphon gas from the van’s tank, the vandals caused over $3,000 in damage.

ICS vehicles are essential to our food distribution operation. Every weekday morning, volunteers head out in this van to pick up bread, meat, dairy products, and other fresh food to supplement the pantry staples distributed by the food banks. Each day hundreds of pounds of grocery surplus that could end up in a landfill are rescued and given to people who desperately need it.

“Some days grocery rescue and other donations make up half of the food we give out. Without these sources, we just wouldn’t be able to give people enough food,” says Josh Hennings, Senior Program Manager over Food Distribution. “Instead of giving people a box of pantry food so they can get by for a few more days, we can make sure families get the variety they need to be healthy and feel satisfied.”

Happily we were able to fix the van fairly quickly, so our clients didn’t suffer. But the repair bill took money from our mission-critical work. We are asking the community to help recover the cost so we can use that money for its budgeted purpose: to feed people in need in Pima County.

The Mobile Food Bank distributes pantry staples and fresh food at eight locations throughout Tucson. This full-service food bank on wheels removes the transportation barrier that previously limited food availability for many of our clients, making it more accessible to more people who need it. While it might seem like there is a grocery store on every corner in Tucson, there are many areas of the city where healthy, affordable food is out of reach because of income and transportation constraints.

“Last year on Arizona Gives Day, ICS received an outpouring of support that went well beyond our goal. Thanks to this generosity, we were prepared for a summer that was longer and hotter than average, resulting in greater fuel consumption than we could have anticipated,” says Tom McKinney, CEO of ICS. “Arizona Gives Day helps to cover fuel, vehicle maintenance, permits, and other costs of maintaining and adding to our mobile food distribution. One day of giving brings long-lasting benefits throughout the community.”

Your donation can help keep the truck on the road for another year, and even expand the route to include more distribution stops. The donation platform is open year-round!