Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, staff volunteer at food bank

PHOENIX — Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema rolled up her sleeves and helped prepare food packages for those in need at the United Food Bank in Mesa on Wednesday.

“As a kid, I was a hungry kid,” said Sinema, who serves Arizona’s 9th Congressional District. “I didn’t have enough food to eat on occasion, so giving back to families who are in need and don’t have enough food to eat is something really close to my heart.”

In Arizona, one in four children live in food insecurity, according to Sinema’s staff, who also volunteered to help. Together with the congresswoman they filled food bags to give out to families on Thanksgiving.

“I think this is a big part of the work that we do in Congress is to give back,” Sinema said. “We have a good partnership with the United Food Bank here in Mesa. They are the largest food bank in our district and they serve literally hundreds of thousands of families each year.”

And they are always looking for more donations.

“The number of families that need turkeys will always exceed the number of turkeys that we have,” she said.