PHOENIX — On Tuesday, National Education Association President Becky Pringle and Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia visited schools in the Creighton and Roosevelt districts to discuss the consequences of federal cuts to nutrition and education programs and highlight the value of investments in early childhood and bilingual education. During the visits, Pringle and Garcia announced a total of $25,000 in donations to help school-based food pantries in each district meet an increase in demand from President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which includes the largest cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in history.
The Urban Institute estimates that as many as 80,000 Arizona families with children could lose SNAP benefits or see their benefits reduced as a result of the new federal cuts. Cuts to SNAP will make it harder for schools to determine eligibility for free and reduced-price meals and to cover meal costs once supplemented by federal reimbursement.
“When students are hungry, they can’t learn. At a time when Donald Trump and his allies are slashing support for our students – cutting $186 billion from food programs that so many of our students and families rely on so they don’t go hungry – meeting the educators in Arizona who are standing in the gaps to help our students is so inspiring. And to help with that work, our union is proud to donate $25,000 to the efforts in Arizona to ensure every student has access to the healthy, nutritious meals they need to thrive,” said National Education Association President Becky Pringle.
"Every single day, educators in Arizona's public schools are thinking about new and creative ways to stretch their funding to cover student needs. With new cuts to federal funding, their job is becoming even harder," said Marisol Garcia, President of the Arizona Education Association. "Our union is grateful to district staff and leaders for their commitment to serving our communities, and we are gratified that Tuesday’s donations will play a role in expanding that good work."
“We greatly appreciate the support of our partners at NEA and AEA, and it was an honor to share our work through the Creighton Family Resource Center and The Creighton Academy with President Pringle and President Garcia,” said Dr. Jay Mann, superintendent of the Creighton School District.
Pringle and Garcia first toured the Creighton Family Resource Center, which offers early-childhood education programs, an on-site food pantry, and wraparound services for parents and children. At the conclusion of the tour, they surprised the center’s staff with a $15,000 donation to support food distribution in the Creighton community. Following their visit to the Family Resource Center, Pringle and Garcia met with educators and students at Creighton Academy, a dual-language immersion school serving approximately 450 students in grades K-8. As they toured the school, they discussed the shared value of bilingual education for English Language Learners and native English speakers, as well as the role of immigration reform in the retention of highly skilled bilingual educators.
In the Roosevelt School District, Pringle and Garcia held a roundtable with local leaders and announced a $10,000 donation to support the district’s two community food pantries.