Arizona State University’s collaboration with St. Mary’s Food Bank has led to the creation of an innovative dashboard aimed at combating food insecurity in Arizona.
This digital platform integrates diverse datasets, which include census demographics, the locations of grocery stores, and statistics related to SNAP participation.
During a workshop held on February 9, St. Mary’s Food Bank personnel were introduced to this tool by a group of Arizona State University students, who demonstrated its functionalities.
The initiative, led by Assistant Professor Aaron Flores, aims to enhance the allocation of resources by providing a clear visualization of food insecurity trends.
“We actually all got together for several months, probably about once a week, and really worked hard on putting together as simple of a training that we could,” Flores noted. “And we tried to keep in mind that many of these people have never worked with this type of software.”
One key insight from the dashboard highlights the significant food insecurity challenges faced by specific regions within Arizona.
“Those aren’t the only places where food insecurity is high, but it’s pretty clear when you look at a map of Arizona that our tribal lands are experiencing high rates of food insecurity,” Flores explained.
Data from Feeding America reveals that in 2023, more than 1 million individuals in Arizona—approximately 14% of the state’s population—were affected by food insecurity.
