In Tucson, food is everywhere. From bagels on Fourth Avenue to seafood at a midtown grill. But this fall, many families struggled to put anything on the table.

When the federal government shut down in October and November, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits were suspended for about 13 days. For families already struggling with rising food prices, that gap hit hard. 

One of the first to jump in was Kingfisher Bar & Grill, where owner and chef Jacki Kuder watched the situation unfold from her living room.

“Every morning I get up, I’m having coffee, and I’m watching the news, and it’s just getting more and more depressing,” Kuder said.

“I saw food bank lines were getting very long. I just saw that the food banks were doing something, but no one else was really doing anything, and I just like, well, let’s take action,” she said.

She grabbed her phone and started texting her food suppliers. 

“I was like, ‘Hey, I want to do this. Let’s feed people. Will you give me free food to do it with?’ and they were like, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Okay, that’s easy.’ All I had to do was ask,” Kuder said.

Within days, Kingfisher rolled out free Sunday meals, no questions asked. Pasta with chicken, chili with cornbread, vegan options and a full Thanksgiving plate. 

“November 2nd, we feed about 400 people. Two hundred had a sit-down and about 50 to-go plates, and then we’re able to give about 200 meals to various food pantries,” Kuder said.

Kuder says the stories she hears stay with her. 

“One gentleman said he and his son had to spent eating peanut butter and jelly for the last week. A lady from the International Guard said she hadn’t been into a restaurant in six weeks because she hadn’t gotten paid,” Kuder said.

And in a moment when trust in institutions feels shaky, she says the community stepped up.

Across town, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona spent the shutdown doing what it always does, feeding people. But this time, the need rose fast. 

“We did see a 33% increase in first-time visits from the previous month. So, that’s a pretty big jump, and this is on top of rising numbers throughout the summer already due to rising food costs and rising food insecurity,” said Chris Firgman. 

“Over 50% of the people we serve are either children under the age of 18 or seniors over the age of 60,” he said.

This is Chris Firmage, the food bank’s public relations manager. He says the shutdown ended, but the impact didn’t. 

“Probably too early to tell. I do think just because people now have SNAP benefits back, it doesn’t mean that, ‘okay, we’re off the hook, they’re totally fine.’ If you lost those SNAP benefits even for two weeks, you probably had to rebudget and allocate money somewhere else. So, we might still see some effects from this,” Firmage explained. 

And for the food bank, restaurants offering free meals have made a real difference. 

“So helpful and such a cool idea. We’re a community, we’re all in this together. If restaurants are able to feed people and maybe alleviate some of the strain on the food bank, it’s much appreciated. On a personal note, it’s a good thing to do for people that need food is to feed them. I applaud any of these businesses that have done anything along those lines, and there are a lot of great stories,” Firmage said.

And Kingfisher isn’t alone. On Fourth Avenue, Bubbe’s Fine Bagels also stepped in. Co-creator Becca Groff says offering free meals felt natural.

“I just felt like the right thing to do. I’m born and raised here in Tucson, and something that’s beautiful about the Tucson community is that we come together when people are in need. It just felt right for us to do something, anything to help out,” Groff said. 

Groff says she came up with the idea herself, and once she committed, it came together quickly. 

“It just took a few days. How we were gonna organize it, I think, was a big part of it, and just making sure we were okay on a financial side as well to do something like this,” Groff said.

Bubbe’s Fine Bagels offered several options: a free bagel with cream cheese, an egg-and-cheese sandwich, and even bags of day-old bagels with cream cheese. She says the goal was to keep the process simple and dignified. 

“We wanted it to feel like any other customer interaction. Either they showed us the photo on Instagram, which we didn’t require, or they just asked for the ‘community care special,’” Groff explained.

Groff says she hasn’t heard any personal stories from customers because the interactions were kept quick and low-key. But she still believes the effort mattered. 

“I don’t think I’m changing the world. If it can help one or two people, even just one, that makes enough of a difference,” Groff said.

She hopes Bubbe’s Fine Bagels can continue supporting the community in some form, even now that the government is back open.

The federal shutdown lasted 43 days. Some families are still recovering. But in a moment of uncertainty, Tucson restaurants did what they do best: cook, serve, and care for the people around them. 

“Food is a human right, and food is humanity and love to me, seeing people go without, especially people affected by SNAP, little kids, it’s not right,” Kuder said.

The shutdown may be over, but the work continues.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.