Do 12% of Arizona residents qualify for federal food assistance? 

More than 900,000 Arizona residents—about 12% of the state’s population—received  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in fiscal year 2024. Public policy officials estimate that thousands more could qualify for assistance but have not yet enrolled.

Primary recipients of SNAP, which provides financial assistance to help low-income households afford nutritious food and reduce food insecurity, are families with children, households with older or disabled family members and working families.

Recent changes under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” however, impose stricter work requirements and funding cuts that threaten to remove benefits from approximately 73,000 Arizonans. This includes parents of older children, veterans, unhoused adults and youth from foster care, according to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities data.

Arizona organizations such as the Arizona Food Bank Network and Children’s Action Alliance say cuts to SNAP would devastate low-income Arizonans and strain local nonprofits.