Orange County hunger rises as CalFresh cuts loom

More than 387,000 Orange County residents experienced food insecurity in 2024, and local food assistance leaders say CalFresh cuts tied to H.R.1 are likely to deepen the problem, according to Voice of OC.

The increase affects families across Orange County, where advocates say about 40,000 residents have already lost CalFresh benefits and nonprofits are preparing for more demand.

Voice of OC reported that Feeding America found more than 387,000 Orange County residents, or about 12%, faced food insecurity in 2024. In 2021, the figure was over 267,000 residents, or 8.4%.

The changes are tied to H.R.1, which Voice of OC reported includes $4.5 billion in annual cuts to the food assistance program. The article said new work requirements and narrower eligibility for some immigrants, including refugees, are being phased in as residents recertify for benefits.

“Those numbers don’t reflect the changes of H.R.1 so what that tells us is that between the time lag and what has happened since the end of last summer, that the situation on the ground is probably worse,” Claudia Bonilla Keller, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of OC, told Voice of OC.

Mark Lowry, OC Food Bank director, told Voice of OC the effect will build slowly as people renew benefits. “It will literally take from October of 2025 through October of 2027 – nearly two full years before Orange County sees the full impact of these cuts,” Lowry said.

Lowry said the county has already seen a reduction in public food assistance. “We already know there’s $10 million fewer dollars of governmental food benefits available to vulnerable families and that means that those 40,000 people need to turn elsewhere to help feed their families. That’s the big generational change. I mean, at a minimum, we haven’t seen anything like this since welfare reform in 1996, 30 years ago,” Lowry said.

Children and communities of color are also facing high rates of need, according to Voice of OC. A Map the Meal Gap report found more than 112,000 Orange County children, about 17%, lacked reliable access to three healthy meals a day in 2024, while food insecurity reached 29% among African Americans and about 18% among Latinos, or 195,000 residents.

Voice of OC reported that the federal share of CalFresh administrative costs is set to fall from 50% to 25% in October, adding pressure on local agencies as food banks expect demand to keep rising.