Food insecurity rises to level not since since the pandemic, Hunger Coalition says

The San Diego Hunger Coalition said Wednesday the number of people living in the county without stable access to food has risen to levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic.

The organization studies nutrition insecurity — when a person lacks access to three nutritious meals a day — by analyzing United States Department of Agriculture data to measure how much a person would need to earn to afford a nutritious diet.

The coalition attributes the rising levels of food insecurity to the higher cost of living and funding cuts.

“Food should be considered a basic right and a lot of people in this community are hungry,” Kendrick said.

After a brief dip at the beginning of the pandemic, the number of food-insecure individuals continued to rise in the years after, according to the organization.

“Now, it’s finally at about 26% of everybody that lives in San Diego County, which we have not seen since 2020 when the pandemic began,” San Diego Hunger Coalition, Research Manager, Joseph Kendrick said.

Kendrick said the lack of nutritious meals could lead to chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension for some individuals, particularly children.

“It affects children in the way that they grow up or are able to develop in their life,” Kendrick said.

The San Diego Hunger Coalition is looking at both short-term and long-term solutions to solve the problem

“In the immediate term, people have to be enrolled in CalFresh and that program has to be funded without any cuts from the federal or local government,” Kendrick said. “In the long term, this is about wages and people not earning enough to be able to afford three nutritious meals without assistance. So a long-term solution — you’d have to be talking about a living wage where everyone is earning enough in San Diego County,” he said.

Feeding San Diego, another nonprofit that aims to feed the hungry, said their organization has seen an uptick in the number of households needing food assistance. About 20,000 households attended their food distribution events between April and May.

San Diego County leaders focus on food insecurity

Supervisors on Tuesday approved $500,000 for the San Diego Food Bank, and $250,000 to the California Center for Cooperative Development to support the SunCoast Market Co-Op, now being built in the city of Imperial Beach.

“These investments will directly benefit residents facing food insecurity while supporting the local food economy,” according to a statement from Joel Anderson and Monica Montgomery Steppe, who made the proposal.

Montgomery Steppe said access to nutritious food “is a basic human right, not a privilege.”

“When families are forced to choose between groceries, rent and medication, our system is broken,” she added. “This action reflects our commitment to reversing the long-standing inequities in our food system and to investing in community-led solutions that empower residents to thrive.”

Anderson thanked Montgomery Steppe for her support, and said strong community partnerships are needed to meet greater needs.

“Our important bipartisan work will strengthen our local safety net and make a real difference for families in need,” Anderson added.

Although the Board of Supervisors is considered a nonpartisan voting body, Anderson is a Republican, while Montgomery Steppe is a Democrat.

According to both supervisors, federal food assistance to the San Diego Food Bank — the largest hunger-relief organization in the county — is down 40%, because of cuts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program.

The $500,000 amount will help the Food Bank replace over 1.8 million pounds of lost food items, such as milk and eggs, for the 400,000 residents it serves every month, according to the supervisors.

“Beneficiaries of these services include students, seniors, veterans and working families,” they added.

The $250,000 grant for SunCoast Market Co-Op “will increase food access and economic development in a region where up to 60% of residents face food insecurity,” according to Anderson and Montgomery Steppe.

SunCoast has over 1,200 member-owners. To be located in the Silver Strand Plaz, the market is set to open this summer, the Coronado News reported.

Anderson and Montgomery Steppe said the grants are in line with the Food Justice Community Action Plan, which supervisors approved last December.