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Orange County supervisors mark Hunger Action Month, spotlighting food insecurity and CalFresh outreach
Summary
At its Sept. 23 meeting the Orange County Board highlighted Hunger Action Month, with supervisors and food‑security partners citing local need (about 320,000 residents face food insecurity) and announcing outreach and a community convening to address program changes and enrollment.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors used its Sept. 23 meeting to draw attention to food insecurity and local efforts to address it.
Vice Chair Katrina Foley told the board that "more than 359,000 people, including more than 86,000 children, experience food insecurity right here in Orange County," and described recent federal program changes that could reduce the nutritional content of distributed meal boxes. Foley said her office will "dig into" how to support affected residents.
Representatives from Second Harvest Food Bank, OC Food Bank and Abound Food Care joined county staff and nonprofit partners to describe coordination efforts formed during the COVID response. Mark Lowry of the Orange County Hunger Alliance said the coalition was formalized after the pandemic and now includes the Social Services Agency, United Way 2‑1‑1, Meals on Wheels and CalOptima among its partners. He said the alliance formed working groups and planned a community convening to explain expected federal changes to nutrition and health programs.
County staff said two major food banks served more than 400,000 residents monthly in 2024, and that CalFresh (California’s implementation of SNAP) is the largest food program in the state. Foley provided county figures she attributed to local sources: "Through CalFresh we invest more than $62,000,000 in monthly food assistance... that's supporting 90,000 seniors and nearly 230,000 children and adults in 2024 alone." (Amounts and counts were provided in remarks recorded to the hearing.)
Supervisors invited public participation in Hunger Action Month activities and noted available channels for CalFresh enrollment and volunteer opportunities at local pantries.
The board did not adopt new funding at the meeting; supervisors said they will pursue follow‑up outreach and convenings to respond to the issues raised.
