At Flagstaff Family Food Center, we understand that in addition to feeding our neighbors every day, we also serve as a hub for people facing food insecurity. When visitors come to our Kitchen, they receive more than a meal, and can also be connected to other vital resources in the community.
And that’s where Lindsey Habegger comes in.
Meet Lindsey Habegger
Lindsey is a graduate student in social work and has been with us since this summer. In just a few months, she has changed what dinner hour at our kitchen can mean for our neighbors.
Once a week, Lindsey opens a resource navigation counter. Neighbors can pick up shampoo, toothpaste or a toothbrush, and fill out an order form for anything else they need. If we have it, Lindsey fills it. If we don’t, she follows up and tries to find those resources from our partners or in the community. She’s working to add to the list of nonprofits who stop by the Kitchen to provide services or information.
Lindsey is about a year into her master’s program at the University of Denver, but she came to this work with a lot of life experience. She spent about five years as a long-distance caregiver for her terminally ill mother, flying to Ohio every month to manage her care. When one of her twin sons was born with a cleft lip and palate, she spent the first decade of his life advocating for him in the medical system. She and her husband have provided respite and kinship care, and they’ve opened their home to college students seeking community with Sunday pasta nights that grew from three people to thirty.
“I had all of these social work adjacent things that I wasn’t paid for,” Lindsey said.
Along with Summer Grandy, our Director of Community Impact, Lindsey also meets one-on-one with neighbors who want more support. Sometimes people just need a quick referral or a question answered. Sometime it requires more navigation through complex systems.
FFFC is a certified Community Partner – Assistor Organization.
This means we can help neighbors apply for AHCCCS, Arizona’s Medicaid program, and for SNAP benefits.
Lindsey hears concerns about SNAP almost every week. Some neighbors have been told they no longer qualify because they can’t work but don’t have a disability determination. Others are buried in pages of confusing notices – or hear nothing at all. Much of the time, the work is simply being there. “Sometimes it’s just listening to someone’s story and holding space for them to be frustrated,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey is now training two interns in resource navigation so the counter can keep growing. Ask her why she decided to focus on working with our organization, and she’ll tell you what she tells her kids.
“Food insecurity is not something that impacts one population; it’s diverse,” she said. “If food access could be prioritized, we’d see improvement in other areas, like physical health. When you have enough food, you think better, you sleep better, you focus better, you parent better. Is it the only factor? No. But it’s an important one. I’m grateful to be part of it in a tiny little way.”
That belief sits at the heart of our mission of Neighbors Feeding Neighbors, Every Day – even when the work reaches well beyond food.
Sincerely,
Ethan Amos
President & CEO
Hunger Heroes: Making a Difference All Year Long
When federal cuts began making headlines a year ago, Eric LaZar’s family sat down together to talk about the organizations they wanted to support. The decision to choose Flagstaff Family Food Center was unanimous.
“Food insecurity is such an important issue, and our kids wanted to specifically help people in our community,” Eric said.
Today, the LaZar family is one of our Hunger Heroes, monthly donors who keep feeding our neighbors all year long. And although Eric describes their month donation as “small,” FFFC feels it has a big impact, supporting 50 meals each month, or 600 each year.
“It feels like an honor to know our small donation is, in any way, helping feed families,” he said. “We want our kids to grow up to know that it is important to be active in our community and helpful whenever possible.”
Every gift, whatever its size, feeds our neighbors every day. Thank you, LaZar family, for being Hunger Heroes.
1. Tomorrow (October 14), we’ll be holding the annual Harvest for the Hungry Food Drive, a partnership between FFFC and Yavapai Broadcasting. Join us at the Fry’s at 201 Switzer Canyon Drive and help us stock our shelves with non-perishable food, grocery store gift cards, and hygiene products. Noon to 6 pm.
2. The Northern Arizona Hunger Action Partnership has just released its 2026 Food Policy Voter Guide in advance of the mid-term elections. Check it out HERE.
3. Quote of the Day: “Food security is more than having something to eat: It’s the comfort of knowing that by not having to worry about food, you can focus on your future.” – Rachael Ray
What We Learned at the 2026 Anti-Hunger Summit
Earlier this month, the Flagstaff Family Food Center hosted our third annual Northern Arizona Anti-Hunger Summit at Grace Church. Each year we bring together the people who work on hunger day in and day out - food bank employees, farmers, dietitians, health care providers, faith leaders, and decision-makers.
A New Chapter for Louie’s Cupboard at NAU
Louie's Cupboard got its start in 2012 as a class project at NAU focused on social movements. Since then, it's grown into a vital campus resource, now serving hundreds of students, staff, and faculty each year.
Still Time to Join the Anti-Hunger Summit
On Thursday, September 3, Flagstaff Family Food Center and our partners throughout the region will gather for the 2026 Northern Arizona Anti-Hunger Summit, bringing together community leaders, advocates, and partners to strengthen our region’s response to hunger.
