We are here for all who need food
At Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County we envision an Orange County with food and nutritional security for all. In collaboration with our partners, we provide dignified, equitable and consistent access to nutritious food, creating a foundation for community health.
In FY 2024, our food distribution totaled:
35,781,426
Pounds of food
To an average of
442,154
People
per month
How We Feed OC
As a large regional food bank, we provide food for all who need it with a concentrated focus on our most vulnerable populations—children, working families, college students and seniors.
We purchase nutritious food and shelf-stable items—and grow a portion of our own produce—for distribution through our Partner Network, which provides food at more than 300 locations throughout Orange County. This vital network includes houses of worship, school and college pantries, afterschool programs, Permanent School Pantries, senior centers, transitional housing facilities, soup kitchens and shelters for the unhoused.
We welcome donations of food and funds from our generous donors. We also work with like-minded organizations to address the root causes of hunger, like poverty and missed educational and vocational opportunities. Together we can make life better for our entire OC community.
Feeding OC With Respect, Dignity and Compassion for All
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County acknowledges the inherent dignity and worth of every single individual. Second Harvest is a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization that strives to provide Orange County with food and nutritional security for all. We see diversity, equity and inclusion as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff, volunteers and the communities we serve. We respect and value diverse life experiences and backgrounds and work to ensure all voices are heard and feel valued.
Second Harvest treats all people equitably and compassionately to foster a sense of belonging. We are committed to a culture where everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, physical ability, neurodiversity, beliefs or other personal characteristics.
Second Harvest believes that we have a responsibility to identify systemic inequities that create barriers for people accessing food, impacting our organization’s work. We implement solutions for these barriers through a lens of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, consistent with our mission. We are committed to maintaining a fair and inclusive environment with respect and dignity for all.
Healthier Families = Healthier OC
Consistent access to nutritious food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy, meat and grains, plus shelf-stable items like beans, canned meat and fish, are critical to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of children and all food-insecure OC residents.
Jill Wilson decided to volunteer with Second Harvest in 2008 when she was in between jobs and looking for a way to apply her talents that could benefit the community. She arrived one day at Second Harvest’s former distribution center in Orange, ready to serve, and felt immediately connected to the mission.
Like Jill and Ian, other friends of the food bank may be looking for ways to connect meaningfully with Second Harvest to help those experiencing hunger in Orange County for years to come. One simple way to make a significant impact, while achieving peace of mind, is by creating a will or revocable living trust with our partner, FreeWill.
March is National Nutrition Month, an annual awareness campaign that encourages us to learn about nutrition, develop healthy eating habits and discover the fun of being physically active. At Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, we strive to provide everyone in Orange County with the nutrition they need to grow and excel in life.
Last spring, here at Second Harvest we completely revamped our focus to proactively purchase fresh nutrition for those in need, ensuring a steady pipeline of protein, dairy, eggs, fruits and vegetables to our approximately 300 partner and program sites. As a next step, we recently unveiled our new, 6,200-square-foot cold storage facility and two additional cold docks that establish a “cold chain” at our distribution center in Irvine. This gives us a total of 14,550 square feet of cold storage, which greatly enhances our ability to source and distribute more nutritious food.
Second Harvest continues to fight increasing food insecurity through our Pop-Up Drive Thru food distributions with the help of many amazing volunteers and it is no surprise that many of them are mothers. Jacqueline is one such volunteer and I wanted to learn more of her story.
here to volunteer representing other mothers…to give back to the community, to be a role model to my children. As a mother, as a woman, as a friend, as a wife…you have so many hats you have to put on and one of them is giving. When I go home my daughter asks me, “Mom what did you do today?” And I say, “I got to give back to people, people that really don’t have as much as we do.” Hopefully she sees me doing this and then as she gets older, she’ll want to give back just the same way.”
Pantry. Their style traditionally has always been very welcoming and focused on building relationships with those they serve. They would put out coffee and pastries and spend time talking with the families who would come early just to socialize.
One of Nancy’s key volunteers, Mary Kaye, also shared insights. Mary Kaye is an emergency room doctor who has been spending much of her spare time serving at the Saint Timothy pantry. She began volunteering pre-COVID by taking blood pressures on pantry days and translating for Spanish-speaking clients.. All the changes have her missing conversations and connecting with the families they serve.
can take your blood pressure soon,” and encouraging them.”
Whatever the situation that keeps students on campus and struggling to feed themselves, the Fresh Basic Needs Hub at UCI remains open to serve them, supported by food from Second Harvest. Student hunger is a serious challenge, made even worse by the pandemic, but Fresh, as it’s called, has the mission to provide for the basic needs of UCI students, allowing them to focus on academics.
Last week did not feel hopeful. Seeing the injustice of the past few days makes me cringe. It causes me to grieve when I see people treated unfairly or worse. But I’m choosing to move forward with hope. How can I have hope this week? Because I know Andrea and I see how she treats people who sometimes feel trapped. The team at Fresh, and all the other college pantries in Orange County serve as a lifeline for their students, providing for basic needs and offering a dignified experience for everyone who comes to them for help. Their service is a beacon of hope in the darkness.
redirected those emotions toward survival and humility. While it was a very difficult decision, Stephen and Kristina decided that in order to make it through this crisis, they would need to receive assistance the first time in their lives. This is what it means to be newly vulnerable.