County hears plea from Hunger Action Alliance as CalFresh delays push food banks to emergency reserves
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Summary
Officials and hunger-relief partners told the board that federal CalFresh benefit delays and an increase in demand have strained local food pantries. County and nonprofit representatives urged support for local food banks and asked supervisors to consider funding and coordination to prevent shortages over the coming weeks.
Representatives from the Hunger Action Alliance and Orange County food banks told the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 4 that delays in CalFresh benefit distribution and higher demand have created an immediate strain on the charitable food network.
Claudia (Hunger Action Alliance) told the board that some pantry distributions are experiencing double their typical attendance and that sign-ups for new families have tripled in some locations. "2‑1‑1 tells us that they had a 500% call volume increase," she said, and warned that food banks have pulled forward stores and funds earmarked for later months to meet current demand.
Vice Chair Foley and Supervisor Sarmiento asked whether the county could allocate emergency funds; Sarmiento highlighted a forthcoming board item proposing a $30,000 allocation to the Friendly Center to serve about 400 families and noted a CalOptima discussion about potential allocations ($7 million total, with $1 million to Cap OC and $1 million to Second Harvest discussed on CalOptima’s agenda).
What the board did: Supervisors asked county staff and philanthropic partners to coordinate with food banks and consider county-level funding support to shore up the charitable food network. No final county-wide emergency appropriation was adopted at this meeting.
Context: County officials said food banks are drawing on funds set aside for later in the year; state-reported funding cited by speakers did not represent new emergency money for this crisis. Hunger‑relief leaders requested help for the county’s roughly 500 pantries and thanked supervisors who had already visited distribution sites.
How residents can help: Speakers encouraged donations to the Orange County Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank and publicized 2‑1‑1 as a resource line for residents seeking food assistance.