Gilbert residents are driving up to a local church's food pantry in luxury cars - just one sign that the downturn in the national economy is creating a new class of needy.

Programs that provide free summer meals to low-income children in Arizona are becoming rarer, leaving families that depend on school lunch programs in a bind during summer vacation.

Programs that provide free summer meals to low-income children in Arizona are becoming rarer, leaving families that depend on school lunch programs in a bind during summer vacation.

From leaner food boxes to longer waiting lists, local social service agencies are feeling the pinch. As the economy continues to tank and the cost of everything from groceries to gas keeps rising, more people are asking social service agencies for help.

As the U.S. economy emerged from a deep recession more than two years ago, Faye Taylor found herself living in Chandler without a job, riding her bike to Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank on Arizona Avenue each month to pick up two large bags of groceries.

A Senate panel led by an East Valley lawmaker agreed Tuesday to let schools opt out of the federal program to offer free and reduced-price lunches for needy students.