Regional Anti-Hunger Leadership

Anti-Hunger Leadership

Those without enough food to eat, or the resources to do something about it, have been our neighbors for a long time. The faces of those who experience hunger in San Diego County are not readily identified. Organizations providing emergency food services will tell you the faces belong to children, to senior citizens, single parents, the newly unemployed, the working poor, college students.

The San Diego Hunger Coalition (SDHC) recognizes the importance of participating in the collaborative work being done by local anti-hunger agencies, sustainable food groups, and other hunger- and health-related community based organizations in San Diego County.
SDHC has representation the Urban Rural Round Table (continuing the work of the San Diego County Food System Working Group), the Childhood Obesity Initiative, Mid-City Community Advocacy Network and the Food Justice Task Force.

San Diego City Council President Tony Young also recognizes the importance and benefits of working together. Click here to read the story as reported by the Union Tribune March 2011.

What's Happening Around the County

The San Diego Food Bank announced the donation of $1.76 million from the Jacobs and Cushman families. The donation will pay off the mortgage for the Miramar warehouse. The food bank will now be called The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank.

A World Cafe: Food for All - A Conversation to End Hunger

The San Diego Hunger Coalition convened members of the anti-hunger community, the sustainable food community, faith-based organizations, the business community, schools and government to discuss what a hunger-free San Diego could look like, feel like, be like. Overall themes that emerged from the discussion included: education; policy change; collaboration; and food distribution. 

Do you need food assistance?

1. You may qualify for the CalFresh Program, (Food Stamps). Please click here to learn about CalFresh.
2. To find an emergency food provider in your area, please call 211 from any phone in San Diego County or visit the 211 website
3. To learn about other local food programs, contact:

Learn how to stretch your CalFresh and Food Dollars. Check out Eating Right When Money's Tight. To view in Spanish, click here.

CHECK IT OUT! FNS just released, How To Get Food Help: A Consumer Guide to FNS Programs! How To Get Food Help is a low literacy, clear language brochure targeted at consumers who may be new to navigating social services and assistance applications. The brochure clearly explains all FNS programs that consumers apply to directly, and it gives them basic information to identify which programs might be right for them.

 

Are you looking for information about hunger in San Diego County?

Several community-based organizations, via their own data collection, provide a look at:
• Who’s hungry in San Diego County
• The resources available to those experiencing hunger/food insecurity
• The needs of those organizations providing emergency food either through distribution and/or a feeding program
• What other resources are available to those needing food assistance
• The barriers to receiving food assistance

In addition to the local studies, several well-respected national and statewide organizations have also released study results.

To learn about hunger in San Diego County, check out the following links:

Feeding the Hungry in San Diego
published by Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego (2009)

The Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego commissioned this study in response to concerns expressed by donors and grant-makers about the lack of information on food insecure individuals and families and assistance programs attempting to meet this need.

The questions this study begins to answer are:
1. What are the known hunger and food insecurity needs nationally and in San Diego County?
2. What effect is the current economic recession having on hunger and food insecurity?
3. What resources and services exist in San Diego County to provide food to those in need?
4. What immediate and long-term opportunities exist to alleviate and ultimately eliminate hunger and food insecurity in San Diego County?

Click here to link to this report.

Food Hardship – A Closer Look at Hunger Data for the Nation, States and Every Congressional District
published by the Food Research and Action Center (2010)

The data in this report show that food hardship – the lack of money to buy food that families need – is a national problem because the rate for the nation is so high and because rates are high in virtually every state, Metropolitan Statistical Area, and Congressional district.

Click here to link to this report.

Food Security Among California’s Low-Income Adults Improves, But Most Severely Affected Do Not Share in Improvement
published by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (2007)

This policy brief reports that, according to the 2005 California Health Interview Survey, more than 2.5 million low-income Californians (30%) cannot afford adequate food for their families on a consistent basis. For more than 775,000 adults, this problem is so severe that they frequently reduce the quality of their food intake or go hungry. This policy brief uses data from the 2001, 2003, and 2005 California Health Interview Surveys to detail the changes in food insecurity by county, income levels, and race/ethnicity. It also describes some of the recent changes in terminology used to describe food insecurity issues. Lastly, the brief discusses some policy options that could be used to address the problems described.

Click here to link to this report.

Hunger and the Safety Net in San Diego County
published by Supportive Parents Information Network (2010)

Supportive Parents Information Network is a nonprofit, all volunteer organization providing information, advocacy, and peer support to families living near or below the federal poverty line. The purpose of the SPIN study was threefold: 1) To look more deeply into the experience of hunger through the eyes of those challenged by hunger; 2) To document peoples’ experience with the San Diego County Safety Net from the perspective of the applicant/potential applicant for public assistance; and 3) To use the insights gained from this study to develop recommendations for improving access to healthy food for people living near or below the federal poverty line.

Click here to link to this report.

Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2010
published by Food Research and Action Center (2010)

The Summer Nutrition Programs, which provide nutritious meals and snacks to low-income children during the summer months, are in trouble and are falling far short of meeting the needs of low-income children. Only one in six of the low-income students who depended on the National School Lunch Program during the regular 2008-2009 school year had access to summer meals in 2009. The limited reach of the Summer Nutrition Programs meant that for the majority of those children, the end of the school year was the end of the healthy, filling meals they counted on, and meant as well a summer of struggling to avoid going hungry.

Click here to link to this report.

Hunger in America 2010
published by Feeding America (2010)

This study provides comprehensive and statistically valid data on the national charitable response to hunger and the people served by food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters in the Feeding America (food bank) network. Includes local information and results collected from Feeding America San Diego.

Click here to link to this report.

Lost Dollars, Empty Plates – The Impact on Food Stamp Participation on State and Local Economies
published by California Food Policy Advocates (2009)

The following analysis examines the impact that increased participation in the CalFresh Program would have on state, local and household budgets. In times of economic hardship, such as the state’s continuing recession, increasing CalFresh participation is an excellent means of bolstering economic activity while supporting the growing number of Californians in need.

Click here to link to this report.

Nutrition and Food Insecurity Profiles
published by California Food Policy Advocates (2010)

The county profiles are self-contained, county-specific documents that provide evidence for the need for healthy, affordable food in your communities as well as the extent to which the federal nutrition programs can work to alleviate this need.

Click here to link to this report.

School Breakfast in America's Big Cities
published by Food Research and Action Center (2011)

This report examines the examines the performance of school breakfast programs in 29 large urban school districts, including San Diego Unified School District, during the 2009–2010 school year, with the goal of monitoring their progress in increasing school breakfast participation among low-income students.

Click here to link to this report.

Schools Out...Who Ate? A Report on Summer Nutrition in California
published by California Food Policy Advocates (2010)

This report tracks progress and trends in summer nutrition over the past year for low-income children in California. The major, disturbing statistical finding is that in July 2009, ten percent fewer children benefited from valuable, USDA-funded free lunches than in July 2008. Significant declines in the availability of summer school, due to state budget cuts, explain much of the reduced participation. Legislators recognize that summer school cuts remove valuable academic enrichment, but few policymakers consider the nutritional impact of summer school reductions.

Click here to link to this report.

SNAP Access in Urban America: A City by City Snapshot
published by the Food Research and Action Center (2009)

This report examines SNAP/CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps in CA) and hunger in 24 of America’s largest urban areas, situated in 19 states and the District of Columbia, looking particularly at local SNAP/CalFresh participation measures, numbers of unserved people, and consequences for individuals and local economies.

Click here to link to this report.