The Abridged version:
- Sacramento has seen a steady increase in food insecurity over the last five years. Last month, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services fed more people than ever before.
- Leaders in local food aid say monetary donations help charitable food sites more than physical donations because they have more buying power.
- The Sacramento region has several free food resources for people in need.
The phone has been ringing off the hook at the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services near the Village Green neighborhood, where staff have been providing food to people in need for nearly half a century.
CalFresh benefits were delayed in November for roughly 270,000 recipients in Sacramento County due to the government shutdown, exacerbating an already severe food insecurity problem that won’t be solved anytime soon, said Kevin Buffalino, communications director for the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. Systemic issues, such as the cost of living, wages and poverty pose significant challenges — and food insecurity poses long-term health risks.
Food insecurity is related to some of the biggest threats to the nation’s health and overall well-being, said Cassandra Nguyen, an assistant professor of cooperative extension in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition.
In a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that examined 10 chronic diseases linked to food insecurity by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers found food insecurity to be a stronger predictor of chronic illness than income in some cases.
Those chronic conditions include coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer.
“By allowing food insecurity to persist, we continue to drive people to have greater risk of these serious health outcomes,” said Nguyen, emphasizing that nutrition and the mental effects of food insecurity are a “critical piece” to the puzzle in helping “people live long and healthy lives.”
Food insecurity, Nguyen said, is also related to a greater risk of psychological outcomes, including anxiety, depression and stress that can linger for years. This is particularly concerning for children, she said, who may be aware that their household is food insecure, regardless of whether it’s being managed by adults.
In 2023, 6.5 million households with children under 18 were food insecure, according to the USDA. In some of these homes, children experienced food insecurity alongside the adults.
What is food insecurity? Hunger?
Food insecurity is an economic and social condition of limited supply or uncertainty surrounding a household’s access to adequate food, according to the USDA. Food insecurity could potentially cause hunger, which is an individual psychological condition.
For the past five years, Buffalino said, the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services has seen a steady increase in food insecurity across Sacramento County, but it’s been a concern for decades.
In 2019, the Sacramento Food Bank and its network of over 100 partner agencies were feeding about 150,000 people per month. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, that number jumped to roughly 300,000 people. Then, inflation hit in 2021 and the demand for food assistance grew once again.
Buffalino said the food bank fed more people in October than ever before, reaching more than 372,700 people. That’s a 12% increase from September and an 8% increase compared to one year prior.
Food insecurity and overall well-being
The Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services distributed nearly 40 million pounds of food this past year to its partner agencies. Buffalino said about 40% of the food acquired is fresh produce.
“Not only do (people) deserve to eat, they also deserve to eat healthy, and they deserve to eat fresh,” Buffalino said.
Simon Yeh, executive director of the food closet South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership, said he is working diligently to shift the narrative surrounding food insecurity and nutrition. Food, he said, is fuel.
“We’re here not just to feed (people), we’re actually helping them find a better tomorrow,” said Yeh, adding that providing people with nutritious food options helps alleviate mental and physical outcomes associated with food insecurity.
The SSIP, which opened its doors in 1969, serves approximately 300 people per day, five days a week, a significant increase from about 100 people per day before the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year the food closet, one of the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services busiest partner agencies, fed nearly 250,000 people.
Yeh said if the food closet was “doing a good job keeping people fed,” it wouldn’t be operating for nearly 60 years.
“Even after 60 years,” Yeh said, “there continues to be a need to address (food insecurity) in Sacramento.”
Food insecurity is a ‘unique phenomenon’ in the U.S.
More than 47 million people, including more than 7 million children, lived in food-insecure homes in 2023, according to the USDA. This means they had difficulty getting enough food to meet their needs or reduced their food intake due to a lack of resources.
“Food insecurity is a really unique phenomenon that occurs from a lot of upstream drivers,” said Nguyen, adding that this is a “challenging topic” that’s not synonymous with income or employment.
For example, Nguyen said, people can live below the poverty level and consider themselves food secure because they might have access to affordable food or social support. Conversely, she said, people above poverty thresholds can experience food insecurity due to factors such as the cost of living or greater household costs.
“It’s the reason why,” Nguyen said, “you can’t just look at what somebody’s eating and know whether or not they’re food insecure because there are a lot of other decisions that go into choosing what somebody’s going to eat.”
In September, the USDA ceased a longstanding annual food insecurity survey designed to collect U.S. food insecurity data to fight hunger.
In a statement, the federal government called the food insecurity survey “redundant, costly and politicized.”
Many public health experts, including Nguyen, disagree.
“The cancellation of the food security survey nationally is a huge loss and leaves us quite blind,” said Nguyen, who specializes in community nutrition. “A lot of what we’ve seen or witnessed related to programs and policies being rolled back is really counter to the science.”
How to donate food resources
While food assistance programs can help, they don’t usually fully alleviate the problem, Nguyen said. To fill the gap, people have long leaned on charitable food sites.
“(People) might be quilting together a variety of resources to make ends meet, which, as you can imagine, is incredibly stressful and time-consuming,” said Nguyen, who partners with Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services and Yolo Food Bank to identify community needs.
Nguyen, Buffalino and Yeh said monetary donations are the best way to help charitable food sites continue to feed people in need because they have greater buying power than a regular community member.
Every $1 donated to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services is turned into three meals, according to its website. Buffalino said people who want to make physical donations should do so through their local food pantry.
Volunteer shifts, Buffalino said, are full at the Sacramento Food Bank for the remainder of the year and staff “couldn’t be more thankful.”
Yeh said he urges local leaders to “think outside the box” to support the region’s charitable food network. He said this could look like leaders giving monetary donations or sharing their network to build “meaningful” connections during this “challenging time.”
The Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services is tapping the community to participate in its 32nd annual Run to Feed the Hungry fundraiser event on Thanksgiving Day.
Buffalino said Run to Feed the Hungry, the food bank’s largest fundraiser, raised roughly $1.35 million last year and recorded a record turnout of more than 31,600 people. This year’s event, he said, is expected to bring out even more people.
Here’s a list of food resources in the Sacramento region:
- Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services
- Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services holiday distribution sites
- Elk Grove Food Bank Services
- Yolo Food Bank
- River City Food Bank
- Orangevale-Fair Oaks Food Bank
- Twin Lakes Food Bank
- 211 Sacramento
- Findhelp
Brianna Taylor is a regular contributor, covering Health and Wellness for Abridged.