John Palmer says volunteering with Anna’s Abundant Blessings has made something clear to him: “All it takes is one moment in time, and we could be in the same situation.”
With roughly 582,000 people experiencing homelessness every night on American streets, and more than 2,000 on average in Pima County, a Tucson woman has set out to ease hunger of those within her reach.
Anna Bennett and her crew of volunteers support people experiencing homelessness by providing them with a warm meal. They also set up picnic tables, chairs, and play music when they hand out the food.
“I wish society looked at them and treated them better,” says Bennett, founder of the nonprofit Anna’s Abundant Blessings. “It’s just a blessing that I’m able to feed those who don’t have enough food.”
Locally, homelessness has increased by 60% since the pandemic, says Ernesto Portillo, spokesman for the city of Tucson’s Department of Housing and Community Development.
During the annual point-in-time survey – carried out by the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness – 2,209 people were homeless on the night of January 23, 2023.
Bennett became aware of the increasing need while volunteering with organizations that offer support to unsheltered communities in Tucson.
She started with an old food truck, once used to sell french fries in Phoenix. Bennett and her husband, Jeffrey, turned it into a brilliant yellow burrito trailer that can now be spotted around Tucson’s encampments and shelters, as well as the Primavera Resource Center.
When she parks her spunky burrito trailer, the air suddenly fills with the voices of people leaving their tents and slowly strolling toward her for a meal.
During a recent visit to the Hundred Acre Woods, Josh Miller walks past the trailer a couple of times eyeing the setup before feeling comfortable enough to line up for a meal. After eating, he says Bennett’s food trailer is a welcome sight at the camp near South Craycroft and East Golf Links roads.
“It’s definitely a blessing, a big surprise, too. This makes it a lot nicer around here – it boosts up the morale of people,” he says.
Tucsonans coping with sleep deprivation, chronic pain, addiction or other health hardships, gather around Bennett’s yellow trailer each week. While some, like Miller, opt for a to-go meal, others choose a convivial community meal instead.
Derek Wyche is one of them. He sits in the sun at one of Bennett’s picnic tables, setting down two mandarins and two juices. He talks about his life, his aspirations, and God’s help. Tears run down his cheeks as he speaks.
“I was wondering, ‘When will I see Anna again?’ When I see them, I’m like, ‘Wow! Anna’s here,’” he says, smiling as he shares what it means to see people from his community come through and stick around.
“Heeeck yeah,” bellows Cristina Lopez, laughing when asked whether she enjoyed the warm meal.
“It’s so appreciated out here,” she says, standing in the makeshift campsite that has become her home. “I wanna say, ‘thank you.’”
Bennett knows a meal doesn’t fix everything. She tries to focus on what she can do.
“Their faces light up when they see that we are giving them free food,” she says.
During the hot summer months, Bennett gets up at sunrise to boil 60 or so hot dogs. She also prepares a pot of chili beans, brings chips, mandarin oranges and cookies. She offers water, lemonade, fruit punch and other drinks from Eegee’s.
During the winter months, her menu shifts from hot dogs to toasty breakfast burritos. Making 60 burritos filled with eggs, cheese, bacon and potatoes requires more work space than she has. So Bennett preps in the commissary kitchen of Tanque Verde Lutheran Church. Burritos are served with pastries from Alvernon Donuts, as well as oatmeal, coffee, hot chocolate, apple juice and water.
When Bennett and her volunteers set up their stand they share companionship and prayers for those who want fellowship.
“We tell them that God loves them, and that we think about them,” she says.
Bennett’s team connects unsheltered communities with local resources.
“We also call people for housing to get them out of the camps. We also provide bikes for them,” Palmer says. “We celebrate their birthdays with them, and we also have job placements.”
The grassroots organization depends on private donations, through friendships, small organizations, and people who want to support their neighbors living on the streets.
Anna’s Abundant Blessings also serves meals to veterans experiencing homelessness in Southern Arizona and partners with other organizations offering mobile shower units, as well as those helping people find pathways out of poverty, such as the Primavera Foundation.
“You see people’s lives change,” says Diane Yeoman, a volunteer who helps Bennett deliver meals. “You see people month after month, some are doing better, some get out of here, get homes.”
At every stop she makes, Bennett places a small box on the front counter of her yellow trailer where it’s easy to spot. It contains empty cards for people to write their own messages or prayers. The box travels across Tucson filled with cards penned by people who didn’t go hungry that day.
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