The San Diego Hunger Coalition joined Live Well San Diego as a recognized partner on May 10, 2016. The vision of the San Diego Hunger Coalition is that everyone in San Diego County has enough food for an active, healthy life. To address the issue in San Diego County of low participation rates in the CalFresh program, the Hunger Coalition organized the CalFresh Task Force in 2005. Today, the CalFresh Task Force has more than 50 member agencies including the County of San Diego. At monthly Task Force meetings held in each region, partners learn about best practices in client advocacy and application assistance, discuss the impact of regulatory changes, resolve challenges with specific cases or systemic barriers, and coordinate outreach.
The San Diego Hunger Coalition believes that school meal programs are one of the most effective tools to eliminate child hunger. In 2015, the San Diego Hunger Coalition began facilitating the Summer Meals Task Force which is the leading resource for starting new summer meal sites and improving existing sites by increasing enrichment programs, with the goal of increasing participation in summer meals countywide.
The policy and advocacy work of the San Diego Hunger Coalition has long supported state and federal legislation to address hunger. In 2016, the Hunger Coalition assumed leadership of the Hunger Advocacy Network. Advocacy priorities for the Hunger Coalition include creating an EBT option for the summer meals program, excluding the Base Allowance for Housing from CalFresh eligibility calculations for active duty military families, and expanding the practice of Breakfast After the Bell.
Also in 2016, the Hunger Coalition launched Hunger Free San Diego, a collaboration of more than 30 decision-makers and experts representing emergency food providers, social service agencies, government agencies, healthcare, school districts, researchers and funders working to end hunger in our region by the year 2030. Proud to be a recognized partner, the San Diego Hunger Coalition will continue to work closely with the County of San Diego to achieve their mission of leading coordinated action to end hunger in San Diego County.
