Jasmin Ceballos has had a rough year. Her car was stolen in May, and she’s struggled to buy groceries for herself and her two kids, especially with a delay in her food stamps being released as a result of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
She knew others were in a similar situation, so the 25-year-old put a shelf and table in front of her house with canned goods and clothing for neighbors to take for free.
As one of the over 800,000 Arizonans who benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program each month, Ceballos did not receive her full November benefits on time. She said basic foods like pasta and sauce were difficult purchases for her during that lapse in funding.
The 43 days that the government was shut down and the weeks following have been uncertain for food stamp beneficiaries as President Donald Trump’s administration refused to fully distribute billions in contingency funds. According to Gov. Katie Hobbs, SNAP monies have now been fully released.
After posting a photo to Facebook and Nextdoor on Nov. 3 inviting people to her front yard, Ceballos said that within one hour, neighbors came to fill up the pantry.
“There are a lot of good people out there and it makes up for all the bad stuff that’s going around,” Ceballos said.
The “bad stuff,” she added, were the government shutdown and the clearing of homeless encampments across Tucson.
Ceballos’ posts quickly gained traction on social media. Now, although the shutdown has ended, she said between 10 and 20 cars still come by every day to drop off or pick up donations.
“I have a shed back there and it’s full of paper towels and toilet paper, and I have five bags of clothes. It’s so much,” Ceballos said.
In addition to paper goods and clothing, people have donated food, baby wipes and formula, cleaning supplies, books, DVDs and even yarn.
Ceballos said her neighbors have been a big help with the project. Each week, a group of them contributes $25 each for groceries at Walmart to replenish the pantry.
“Thank you [for] doing this and bringing people together in such a meaningful way. Will be dropping off items later today or tomorrow,” one user wrote on Ceballos’ Nov. 5 Nextdoor post.
Another user wrote, in a comment on a post of Ceballos’ from last week, “I really feel like these public access donation and pick up points are so amazing. There are so many people out there struggling to ask for help or where to look, and it can be difficult to be processed through a program let alone be brave enough to ask/apply.”
Ceballos said many of the food aid resources in Tucson require documentation or have limited hours. At her front yard pantry, anyone in need has 24/7 access and can participate, no questions asked.
The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona distributes federally funded emergency food aid to local households once a month. For eligibility, the program requires that the household’s total gross income does not exceed 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. The food bank asks for applicants’ names, dates of birth, photo IDs, the number of their household members and all of their birthdates.
The food bank’s Tucson location — the Gabrielle Giffords Resource Center — operates food distributions from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; Thursdays from noon to 6 p.m.; and on the fourth Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon.
Gap Ministries, a faith-based organization, offers free food shopping without identification requirements and is open for food pick-ups Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Ceballos is involved with the nonprofit organization Woman 2 Woman, which helps connect local women to resources for food assistance, childcare, housing, domestic abuse survival and more.
Ceballos wants to work with the City of Tucson to open more grab-and-go pantries like the one she started. And she said her long term goal is to open a women’s shelter, which the nonprofit partner is helping plan.
“It just hurts my heart to see single moms going through it. I’m a single mom myself. I got abused by my baby daddy. It’s just a desperate feeling of trying to find something and getting out,” she said.
Ceballos plans on keeping her pantry open for the foreseeable future. It’s located just south of Walmart on Craycroft Road and 22nd Street, and Ceballos invites anyone to donate or take home goods for free.
