Hunger is an epidemic, afflicting people from all demographics. Hunger is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon that varies along a continuum of successive stages as it becomes more severe. The importance of understanding this continuum of hunger stems from the physiological state of hunger and the food availability within Orange County. Hunger is unacceptable and extinguishable with the amount of excess food in Orange County. There are an estimated 615,000 individuals who struggle with hunger in Orange County. Within this group exists varying degrees of severity and frequency of hunger. Of the 615,000 individuals who struggle with hunger in O.C., 69% of these individuals do not qualify for government food assistance programs and need to rely on food banks, like Second Harvest.
Children
Children make up 35% of the hungry in Orange County. The government’s Free and Reduced Lunch Plan (FRLP) is the best available indicator of the number of children living in poverty in a community. According to the 2010 OC Department of Education, 227,820 students rely on FRLP as a steady and reliable source of nutrition. This figure reflects 44% of Orange County public school enrollment, a 24% increase since 2000.
Obesity
Often overlooked and most shocking is the disproportionate affect obesity has on an impoverished community. According to UCLA’s Center for Health and Policy Research, teens from low income families are 3 times more likely to be obese than teen from affluent families. The 2009 Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, reports that 22% of Orange County children are overweight.
Seniors
The OC Health Care Agency released a study on seniors, and according to results from the CA Health Interview Survey in 2009, 15.2% of seniors experience food insecurity. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to hunger and its consequences. While financial difficulties account primarily for hunger, seniors face the added challenge of limited mobility that prevents them from obtained much needed nutrition. The resulting food insecurity could interfere with the management of chronic health problems and a poor diet could compound many health conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, which could otherwise be controlled through healthy eating.
SNAP Participation
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP is the largest federal nutrition assistance program and a crucial safety net for low income families. SNAP provides low income families with benefits to augment their food budget, increasing the family’s access to a nutritious and affordable diet.
In California the rate of participating eligible applicants is 48%, and Orange County is listed in the bottom 5 counties for SNAP participation, 54th out of 58 with only 28% of the eligible population participating in the program. As of December 2010, 180,087 Orange County residents were enrolled in the SNAP program. Of those individuals enrolled 63% or 114,193 were children.