Food Insecurity in California

California

Food insecurity is an economic and social condition where one’s regular access to food is limited or uncertain. It differs from hunger in that hunger is a physiological feeling. Food insecurity is a complex problem and does not exist in isolation for low-income families. Many food-insecure families also struggle with disadvantages resulting from structural racism, lack of affordable housing, high medical costs and low wages. 

Food insecurity has broad effects on health due to the mental and physical stress it places on the body and is associated with an increased risk of many chronic conditions, including diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Children are particularly susceptible to the negative impacts of food insecurity because their brains and bodies are still developing. Among children, food insecurity is associated with anemia, asthma, depression and anxiety, cognitive and behavioral problems and a higher risk of being hospitalized.

Health-related costs attributed to hunger were conservatively estimated at $160 billion nationally in 2014. Adding in poor educational outcomes brings the total to $178.9 billion. One study found that food-insecure families had annual health care expenditures nearly $2,500 higher than food-secure families.

The prevalence of food insecurity is higher among:

• Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic households compared with non-Hispanic white households. 
• Lower-income households (i.e., those below 185% of the poverty threshold) compared with higher-income households. 
• Households with children compared with households without children.
• Households headed by a single adult, particularly a single woman with children, compared with households with multiple adults.

Programs that have been effective at reducing food insecurity by providing either cash or food assistance to those in need include:

• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP and school lunch programs lifted 5.1 million people out of poverty in 2021. Despite this success, it is estimated that 37% of food-insecure individuals live in a household that does not qualify for SNAP.
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides food and nutritional support for low-income children and pregnant and postpartum women. 
• The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) provides free or low-cost meals to students at school. These programs have been shown to reduce food insecurity, improve the quality of students’ diets and improve school performance and are recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force.
• Local food banks provide free food to those in need.

Healthy People 2030 has an objective to reduce household food insecurity and hunger.

Gundersen, Craig, and James P. Ziliak. “Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes.” Health Affairs 34, no. 11 (November 1, 2015): 1830–39. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0645.

Palakshappa, Deepak, Arvin Garg, Alon Peltz, Charlene A. Wong, Rushina Cholera, and Seth A. Berkowitz. “Food Insecurity Was Associated With Greater Family Health Care Expenditures In The US, 2016–17: Study Examines the Relationship between Food Insecurity and Family Health Care Expenditures.” Health Affairs 42, no. 1 (January 1, 2023): 44–52. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00414.

Shrider, Emily A., and John Creamer. “Poverty in the United States: 2022.” Current Population Reports P60-280. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, September 2023. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-280.pdf.