Local food banks and pantries have been working all year to ensure residents across Orange County have enough food to put on the table amid a food cliff that hit the state this year following the end of enhanced food stamps and inflation.
It’s a recipe that food bank leaders across the state warned early this year would result in a food cliff and leave millions of Californians hungry – many of them seniors, college kids and people of color.
“Sometimes we talk about a one-two punch, if anything, this was a one-two-three-four punch,” OC Food Bank Director Mark Lowry said in a phone interview.
And with the holiday season arriving – the busiest time of year for food banks and pantries – leaders like Lowry are reflecting on the impact of that food cliff and what awaits residents dependent on them for food next year as government support dwindles.
Claudia Keller, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank OC, said while things are not as bad as the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are still serving more people than pre-pandemic years.
“The situation is quite dire now,” she said in a phone interview. “It doesn’t augur a good picture for the beginning of 2024. We’re expecting this level of need to continue, at least for the first half of next year.”
Local food bank leaders like Keller now say they don’t know when the need for food in Orange County will drop down to pre-pandemic levels at a time where food insecurity is increasing across the country.
[Read: Many Orange County Residents Still Struggle Putting Food on Table]
What Does Orange County’s Food Cliff Look Like?
In January, Keller and Lowry warned the end to increased COVID-19 food assistance and other benefits for families – combined with high inflation and increasing food costs – would impact the ability of 300,000 OC residents to buy food.
[Read: Millions of Californians Are About to Lose COVID Food Benefits; OC Braces for ‘Food Cliff’]
They were right.
Preliminary research by the California Association of Food Banks on the impact of the expired COVID-19 food benefits shows that people on CalFresh food stamps – especially with kids – are running out of food or not able to buy enough nutritious food.
Researchers with the association say that residents are now debating whether they’re going to pay the bills or buy food and relying more heavily on local food banks and pantries which are strained.
The association is advocating for a host of state and federal policies that they hope will bolster food banks, along with funding and access to food assistance.
Meanwhile, Bandana Singh, who helps run the bi-monthly Seva Collective’s drive thru and walk-up food pantry in Santa Ana, says the food cliff is very visible in Orange County.
“One of the first people in the walk up line comes at 2:30 in the morning and we don’t open till 9:30. People in the cars are there before four o’clock. They come and park their car and they’re waiting,” Singh said.
“They wouldn’t be there if the need wasn’t there.”
The Seva Collective food pantry – formerly known as the Sikh Center of Orange County Food Pantry – has been on the ground for the past three and a half years helping tackle food insecurity since the pandemic.
Singh said there are still about 500 to 600 families coming to their food distributions every month, sometimes more.
She also said 850 families came out to their Thanksgiving turkey drive in November.
The food cliff hit after the demand for food in Orange County skyrocketed during the height of the pandemic amid government-mandated business closures.
It led to the federal, state and local governments to curb food insecurity through increased benefits and food drives.
At the height of the pandemic, Seva Collective was feeding 1,200 families every Saturday.
Seva Collective’s next food distribution is expected to take place on January 6 at Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate School in Santa Ana from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
They are not the only pantries and food distributions on the ground in OC – there’s a host of volunteer organizations and networks helping feed residents.
For food assistance options and local food distribution schedules, visit 211 OC.
People looking to donate to or volunteer with local organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank, the OC Food Bank or Seva Collective can do so at the links provided here.
Food Cliff by The Numbers
This year, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County distributed close to 36.3 million pounds of food to feed an average of 393,000 residents a month, according to their website.
That means roughly 12% of Orange County’s roughly 3.2 million residents get food through Second Harvest.
In 2019 – a year prior to the pandemic – the food bank distributed about 29 million pounds of food to an average of more than 249,000 residents a month and in 2021 they distributed about 59 million pounds of food feeding close to half a million people in OC on average a month.
The OC Food Bank has similar numbers.
They distributed over 30 million pounds of food this year to about 400,000 residents a month, according to Lowry.
The food insecurity rate in OC is projected to be close to 13.7% as compared to 8.5% in 2018, according to the OC Hunger Alliance – a coalition of organizations looking to tackle food insecurity.
And about half of students at OC public schools — roughly over 200,000 kids – rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition, according to Second Harvest.
Will The Food Cliff Bring About a System Change in 2024?
Keller and Lowry say there is now a desire among philanthropists, government agencies and academics to tackle the issue of hunger through a system change that emphasizes additional support other than food – like rent assistance – for people facing food insecurity.
“Hunger is not a standalone experience. It is simply a symptom of poverty,” Lowry said “Where possible, we want to encourage and support organizations in exploring what other needs that family might have that the organization could help them address at the same time.”
At the same time, their groups still have to feed residents in Orange County struggling with food insecurity now while looking at the future.
“We’re living in that tension right now,” Keller said.
Both Lowry and Keller say efforts to curb poverty and food insecurity don’t have the level of urgency behind them as was seen during the pandemic.
Yet, food bank leaders expect the current need for food to carry on into next year.
And they hope it won’t become the new normal.
Lowry said with California facing a $68 billion deficit, food banks are unlikely to see the same level of support they have previously received from the state – especially during COVID – and may have to rely on the private sector for support.
Singh said she doesn’t expect the need for food to die down any time soon.
“We’re planning to continue as we have,” she said.
“The need is there.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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