In addition to providing nutritious food through our countywide food distribution programs for people of all ages and circumstances, we know that food banking alone will not solve the entirety of hunger and poverty. Thanks to the support of a caring community, we are fortunate to be able to help our neighbors with food when we are needed. In addition to that, we engage in advocacy work, sharing the causes and impact of rural hunger in Humboldt County, in the hope that we can build a stronger safety net and society.

According to Feeding America, for every one meal that food banks provide, CalFresh/SNAP provides nine. According to USDA, SNAP alleviates poverty and reduces the depth and severity of poverty experienced by recipient households.

We are committed to protecting and strengthening a range of legislation, programs, and policies that help lift people out of poverty, so that all elders, children, families, and individuals can live with dignity and good health. We can not food bank our way out of the economic conditions that result in hardworking or retired households unable to afford food AND housing, or food AND utilities, or medications, or transportation, or just to keep up with the rising price of food at all.

We keep as much of an eye on policy and the root causes of poverty as we do on our daily commitment to making sure our local community members, who come from every walk of life you can imagine, have access to food and do not go hungry.

Food for People publishes The Humboldt County Hunger Action E-News for Humboldt County partners interested in local, statewide and national CalFresh and nutrition current events. Outreach staff consolidate information on the successes, challenges, upcoming legislation and advocacy opportunities impacting CalFresh, nutrition education, hunger and poverty. Sign up via the form at the bottom of this page.

USDA's September 4, 2024 Household Food Security Report highlights a startling hunger crisis in America. According to the report, 47.4 million people lived in households experiencing food insecurity last year, an increase of 3.2 million compared to 2022, and 13.5 million compared to 2021.

This was likely due to inflation and the end of critical COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts that provided temporary boosts to SNAP (CalFresh in California) benefits; allowed schools to offer school meals to all students at no charge; and expanded the Child Tax Credit. In addition:

* One in seven households (13.5%) in America struggled with hunger in 2023. In addition:

* 13.8 million children lived in households that experienced food insecurity, up 3.2% from 2022.

* 33.5% of households with income below 185% of the poverty threshold experienced food insecurity in 2023.

* A higher portion of households in urban areas (15.9%) and rural areas (15.4%) experienced food insecurity compared to suburbs (11.7%).

* 34.7% of single-parent households headed by women experienced food insecurity.

* Rates of food insecurity were higher for Black (23.3%) and Latinx (21.9%) households, both more than double the rate of White non-Latinx households (9.9%). 

The Alliance to Transform CalFresh contains a wealth of information about improving CalFresh participation in California, with resources and information on opportunities for advocating for improvements state-wide.

NourishCA has a great website if you're interested in legislative advocacy for fair access to nutritious, affordable food for all Californians. Their work focuses on policy advocacy, expertise, and research. Their CalFresh page will tell you everything you need to know about upcoming legislative advocacy priorities, recommendations for improving the applicant experience and links to their reports and data.

California Association of Food Banks (CAFB)shares their State Policy Agenda regarding CalFresh, nutrition and anti-hunger policy and their Hunger Legislation Tracker.

Food Research and Action Center has a ton of advocacy-oriented information about poverty-related hunger in the United States, including advocacy and policy strategies on the Farm Bill, school meals, and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--or what CalFresh is known as at the federal level), including data, resources and publications.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a leading resource for data on SNAP and how legislative actions affect the program's participants and potential participants. Learn about some of the policy basics and introductory statistics, such as the percentage of SNAP participants that are in families with children, and how many SNAP participants are in households with seniors or people with disabilities, and go further with their many interesting analyses and reports.