OneAZ grants $22,500 to three Yuma nonprofits

A $7,500 grant to the Yuma Community Food Bank could buy about 1,600 gallons of milk, a staple CEO Andy Robinson said is costly and hard to secure through donations. For families already stretching budgets in Yuma County, that turns one grant into a direct supply of food that can move quickly from warehouse shelves to kitchen tables.

OneAZ Credit Union said the county’s local share of its Community Impact Grants totaled $22,500, with $7,500 going each to United Way of Yuma County, Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area and the Yuma Community Food Bank. The awards were part of a $360,000 statewide distribution to 48 organizations, aimed at groups working on housing stability, food security and economic opportunity.

The local mix matters because each nonprofit touches a different pressure point in county life. United Way of Yuma County uses its network to support households that need help staying housed and connected to services. Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, which anchors preservation and public use around Yuma’s river corridor and historic sites, will use its share to support community work tied to the region’s heritage and civic value. The food bank’s grant goes straight to one of the most expensive basics it handles: dairy for families who cannot absorb another jump in grocery prices.

Robinson’s estimate of roughly 1,600 gallons shows the scale a relatively small grant can reach in a county where demand for emergency food support remains constant. Milk is one of the harder items for food banks to secure because it must be refrigerated, purchased, and moved quickly. That makes cash grants especially useful, since they let nonprofit leaders fill gaps that food drives often leave open.

OneAZ said its foundation has donated more than $3.5 million since 2016, a figure that puts the Yuma awards into a larger pattern of philanthropy across Arizona. In Yuma County, the immediate payoff is narrower but easier to measure: food on the shelf, dollars for housing help, and support for the local institutions that keep residents connected to each other and to the economy.