40% of California can't afford food—and it's not just the poor

Here’s a number that should shake you: nearly 16 million Californians—roughly 40% of the state—can’t afford to feed their families. That’s not a fringe issue. That’s a crisis unfolding in our neighborhoods right now.

What makes this especially startling is who’s struggling. Yes, low-income families are hit hardest. But Jared Call, director of public policy and advocacy for the California Association of Food Banks, shared data that reveals something more unsettling:“A family of four who’s making $132,000 per year; nine percent of those families are reporting food insecurity.”Six figures used to mean stability. Not anymore. Rising housing costs, skyrocketing groceries, and stagnant wages have created a perfect storm where even middle-class families are choosing between paying rent and putting food on the table.

The California Association of Food Banks unveiled a new county-by-county dashboard this week during the Food ACCESS Conference in downtown Sacramento, where over 450 anti-hunger advocates gathered to sound the alarm. The data, powered by the Urban Institute, shows about one in four Californians deals with food insecurity—and that number jumps to one in three for households with children. These aren’t abstract statistics. They’re neighbors, coworkers, classmates.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Just as demand for food bank services explodes, funding is shrinking. The network of 43 food banks and 6,000 community organizations that distributed over 1 billion pounds of food last year now faces proposed federal SNAP cuts (CalFresh in California) and major reductions in USDA emergency food assistance. The state currently funds food banks at $80 million annually. This month, advocates are asking lawmakers for $110 million just to keep pace with need. That’s not asking for growth—that’s asking to tread water.

Call put it plainly:“The cost of food, the cost of gas, the cost of rent, everything rising, and salaries and wages not keeping up. We’re going to see a lot of new people and first-time people at food banks for the first time.”

If you want to help, food banks say monetary donations pack the biggest punch. Money lets them buy in bulk and stretch every dollar further than a shelf donation ever could. Your local food bank needs it, and clearly, more Californians do too.