High gas prices, grocery inflation and an unprecedented cut to food stamps have driven record numbers of people to Valley food banks, nonprofit leaders tell Axios.

Why it matters: "They're neighbors of ours. They're fellow Arizonans. And they're doing everything they can to take care of their families," St. Mary's Food Bank CEO Milt Liu says.

The big picture: About 470,000 fewer Arizonans are receiving food assistance compared to this time last year. That includes more than 200,000 children, per a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis.

That's driven by federal funding cuts and new eligibility and verification directives, which Arizona implemented last year in a stricter way than most of the country, CBPP senior policy analyst Katie Bergh tells Axios.

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment subsequently dropped by about 50% from July to February, compared to the national average drop of about 9%.

Threat level: Less help, combined with higher prices on virtually everything, has resulted in "a lot more desperation and a lot more gut-wrenching hunger," St. Vincent de Paul chief program officer Jessica Berg tells us.

Zoom in: St. Vincent de Paul is looking to raise an additional $2 million and 500,000 pounds of food this year to support its operations, and it's having to get creative with how to help people, Berg says.

• When gas prices first spiked in March, they asked a donor to buy gas cards so families could still reach the organization's dining rooms.

Meanwhile, St. Mary's expects to serve 300,000 more meals this year compared to last.

• At the same time, federal cuts also slashed the amount of food they'll receive from USDA, requiring the organization to spend an additional $12 million, Liu says.

1 hopeful thing: The need is growing, but so is the compassion, the nonprofit leaders say.

• See how to help.

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A crowd gathered at the Clarendon Hotel yesterday to honor Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles on the 50th anniversary of the car-bombing that took his life.

Flashback: At 11:34am on June 2, 1976, a dynamite bomb exploded under Bolles' Datsun as he backed out of his parking space after being lured to the hotel for a fake meeting. He died 11 days later.

📸 Phoenix's new radar cameras caught 30,000 speeders in the first two months. (AZcentral)

🏡 Scottsdale homebuilder Taylor Morrison will be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in an $8.5 billion deal. (Phoenix Business Journal)

🫠 We just survived our hottest spring on record. Phoenix's average temperature for March, April and May was 80.2℉, 6.4 degrees above normal. (KJZZ)

🎹 Actor Jeff Goldblum's jazz group will perform at the Musical Instrument Museum in October. (Phoenix New Times)

A new Phoenix Art Museum exhibit will explore Native American history, culture and storytelling, thanks to a historic donation of nearly 200 works by Indigenous artists.

Why it matters: The new artwork fills a "critical gap" in the museum's Art of the Americas collection and will provide a deeper, more complex understanding of Native artists' role in shaping modern and contemporary art, director Jeremy Mikolajczak said in a statement.

Driving the news: The museum announced the gift yesterday, describing it as the largest influx of Native American art in its 65-plus-year history.

• The collection, which includes paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures from the 20th century onward, was donated by William Healey.
• It features work from 99 Native artists representing 44 tribal nations.

Zoom in: About half of the donated pieces will be displayed in an exhibition debuting in August.

• "The Way We Came: A Century of Indigenous Art" will center on the concept of "survivance," a reflection of "how Indigenous peoples move beyond mere survival toward an active, creative sense of presence that carries knowledge forward," according to a press release.

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