The Tombstone Food Bank is working to meet increasing demand by moving to a larger location and connecting to a national network for help.

The Tombstone Food Bank, which operates out of a small building in the historic district, will relocate to a new structure behind the H. Love building in late October.

“It’s going up as we speak,” said City Clerk George Barnes.

The food bank is a primitive operation with inadequate storage, Barnes said. The new building will have the ability to serve more people.

To help with the food bank’s vehicle operations, the city council allocated more than $9,000 on Tuesday.

But the food bank has expanded even further by adding a new partner.

This year the Tombstone Food Bank collaborated with the Tucson Community Food Bank for the first time. Tucson’s food bank will act as a hub for donations and ensure a larger food supply for Tombstone.

“It’s a big deal for us because it allows us to run a big-time food bank, even though we’re just a little town,” Barnes said.

When Tombstone partnered with the Tucson Community Food Bank, it partnered with a national organization — Feeding America.
The Tucson Community Food Bank delivers nearly 16 million pounds of food per year, operates from a 140,000 square-foot facility and trucks Arizona roads every day to supply food, said Bill Carnegie, chief executive officer of the Tucson Community Food Bank. 
For Tombstone, this partnership has created for bigger food supplies and storage areas, feeding those residents who use the food bank.

The Tucson Community Food Bank helped Tombstone find state funding for a 20-foot refrigeration unit, set-up installation of the fridge and finance the new building through grants from the United States Department of Agriculture.

“We’re absolutely concerned about people that live in small towns and want to ensure they have access to food to live a quality life,” Carnegie said.

Currently Tombstone’s food bank serves 38 to 72 families per week and allows two visits per month for each household, said Marge Legler, secretary of the Tombstone Food Bank. “More people are needing it because of the economy.”

Residents who qualify must show proof of income, proof of residency and photo identification, Legler said. Also, income cannot exceed $1,600 a month for a single person.

The food provided from the bank provides a supplementary source of food, Legler said.

Whatever food is available that week is divided into boxes by the food bank workers and given to the customers.

Food bank products vary month to month, but workers try to provide the food people desire and can easily make meals from. Typical products include peanut butter, canned chicken and beef, rice, cereal and pasta, Carnegie said.

“The food comes in from a number of sources,” Carnegie said.

Most food going to Cochise County is from the government, funded by U.S. tax payers. The Department of Economic Security administers a list of “shelf-stable” items available, and the food bank makes regular orders. Each food bank receives funding based on the poverty population in the area it serves and number of dollars allocated for the orders, Carnegie said.

Some produce shipped to the U.S. from Mexico must be eaten quickly before it spoils, so it stays in Arizona rather than traveling to other national food banks, Carnegie said. Tombstone collects some of this produce.

The town also receives tomatoes from their Wilcox neighbors, he added.

More than 4.5 million pounds of food were distributed by food banks in Cochise County from 2006 to 2007, according to a report compiled by the Association of Arizona Food Banks.

“Our food bank is operating at full capacity right now,” said Carnegie about the economic strains affecting Tucson Community Food Bank operations. “We’re up over 30 percent from a year ago and 50 percent from 2006.”

“Definitely, the economy has affected the food bank,” he added.

Although Tombstone’s food bank has grown, local donations are just as important.

If you would like to make a donation please contact Marge Legler at (520) 457-2253.