Arizonans are again being asked to be as generous as possible, to provide food for the less fortunate, during the holidays. Jerry Brown, of St. Mary’s Food Bank, said while we may be in the middle of an economic recovery, it is hard to tell, judging by the demand for their services.

"Thanksgiving was every bit as busy as what we saw in 2008 and 2009, when the economy really went sideways, so, while I think the economy is improving for some folks, there’s still going to take quite a while before it trickles down to the folks who really need it at the low levels," said Brown.

Brown said St. Mary’s is in particular need of canned goods and that cash donations to firstfoodbank.org are the ideal contributions. He said it only takes 14 cents to buy a hungry person a meal.