This article is part of a series from San Diego Foundation that provides voters with an independent and objective explanation of the issues Measure B focuses on and how it could affect San Diego County communities.

In Brief

• Food and nutrition insecurity affect a significant share of San Diego County. As of March 2026, as many as 850,000 San Diego County residents—more than 1 in 4—experienced nutrition insecurity, a level that exceeds the peak reached during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the San Diego Hunger Coalition’s March 2026 Data Release.
• Food insecurity in the region is driven primarily by San Diego’s high and rising cost of living—especially housing—rather than by unemployment alone; the large majority of financially struggling households statewide have at least one working adult, according to the United Ways of California, Real Cost Measure report.
• Food insecurity can affect health, education and economic well-being. National research published in the Journal of Nutrition links food insecurity to higher rates of chronic disease, worse mental health and poorer educational outcomes, making it both a public-health issue and an economic one.
• San Diego County addresses food insecurity through both public programs and community support. Government nutrition programs, food banks, and public-private and philanthropic partnerships together form San Diego County’s food-security safety net. In November 2026, county voters will also consider a ballot measure that touches on nutrition assistance, among other issues.

What Is Food Insecurity?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as the lack of consistent access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. It describes it as a social and economic condition rooted in limited resources—not voluntary dieting, fasting or illness.

Food insecurity and nutrition insecurity are related but distinct. Food insecurity focuses on whether people have consistent access to enough food, while nutrition insecurity considers consistent access to foods and beverages that support health and well-being. In this article, “nutrition insecurity” is used when citing San Diego Hunger Coalition data that specifically uses that measure.

Food insecurity exists on a spectrum. On the less severe end, it can look like worrying about running out of food, not being able to afford balanced meals or eating less to stretch a budget. In more severe cases, it can mean being hungry and unable to afford food, skipping meals for an entire day or losing weight because there isn’t enough money for groceries. Because it is a spectrum, food insecurity can affect a household long before anyone in it experiences the physical sensation of hunger.

Food Insecurity, Hunger & Nutrition Assistance

Food insecurity is often confused with hunger, but the two are not the same:

• Hunger is an individual, physical experience caused by not eating enough food. It is often a consequence of food insecurity.
• Nutrition assistance refers to public programs—such as CalFresh (California’s name for the federal SNAP program) and WIC—designed to help people access adequate food.

Employment Doesn’t Guarantee Food Security

Having a job does not necessarily protect a household from food insecurity. A persistent misconception is that food insecurity only affects people who are unemployed or experiencing homelessness.

In reality, San Diego’s food insecurity problem is closely tied to affordability and purchasing power. High housing and grocery costs, uneven incomes and gaps in who actually receives available public benefits leave hundreds of thousands of working residents unable to consistently afford nutritious meals, even with a large food-assistance network in place.

Program data show that the large majority of financially strained households include at least one working adult, according to a United Ways of California, Real Cost Measure report.

Why Is Food Insecurity Increasing in San Diego County?

The primary driver behind San Diego County’s elevated food insecurity is the region’s rising cost of living. According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition, inflation in the San Diego region has sharply outpaced the national average in recent years, putting additional pressure on household budgets already strained by high housing, food and other essential costs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in the San Diego area were 2.7% higher in July 2026 than a year earlier. Even as inflation moderates, San Diego households continue to face higher prices built on years of accumulated increases.

Several other pressures compound the effect of the cost of living, including the regional housing crisis, rising household debt, stagnant wages relative to expenses and changes to federal nutrition-assistance eligibility rules. According to August 2026 reporting by The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diegans have already begun dropping out of SNAP programs, even before some federal eligibility changes take effect. According to a 2026 LendingTree analysis, 31.4% of San Diego-area cardholders carried at least $10,000 in credit-card debt, the 11th-highest share among the 100 largest U.S. metros. Taken together, these factors could mean that multiple financial pressures are typically combining at once to strain a household budget, rather than any single factor acting alone.

Immigration status can create additional barriers to accessing food assistance. According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition, some immigrant and mixed-status families have concerns about how applying for CalFresh could affect their immigration status. Undocumented household members can opt out of the application process and apply on behalf of other eligible household members, including their children, without disclosing their own immigration status. The Hunger Coalition recommends that families with concerns seek qualified legal guidance as federal public-charge policies continue to evolve.  

Who Is Most Affected?

Food insecurity does not affect every community equally. According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition’s March 2026 data release, nutrition insecurity affects roughly 219,000 children, 179,000 older adults, and 137,000 people with disabilities in San Diego County. It also disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous and Hispanic/Latino residents:

• 36% of Black San Diegans
• 35% of Hispanic/Latino San Diegans (across all nationalities)
• 24% of Native San Diegans
• 19% of White San Diegans
• 19% of Asian San Diegans

According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition, Hispanic/Latino residents make up about 35% of San Diego County’s overall population but represent roughly 49% of the county’s nutrition-insecure population—the largest disparity by race or ethnicity in the region.

These disparities are consistent with findings in San Diego Foundation’s 2023 San Diego Economic Equity Report, which found significant differences in food insecurity across racial and ethnic groups and connected those disparities to broader gaps in income and the region’s high cost of living.

Military families face particular challenges. San Diego is home to more than 115,000 active-duty military members, according to the San Diego Military Advisory Council. Feeding America has reported that nearly a quarter (24%) of active-duty service members experienced food insecurity in 2020, and that active-duty families of color reported food insecurity roughly twice as often as white, non-Hispanic families.

According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 47% of California community college students surveyed in 2023 experienced food insecurity within the previous 30 days. Working families, veterans, and people with disabilities round out the populations most commonly represented in local food-assistance data. Rather than isolated groups, these populations tend to share overlapping circumstances—low or irregular wages, high fixed costs, caregiving responsibilities or barriers to accessing benefits—that combine to increase their risk.

How Does Food Insecurity Affect Individuals and Communities?

Food insecurity carries both immediate and long-term consequences, and researchers increasingly describe it as both a health issue and an economic one.

Physical Health & Nutrition

Food insecurity can affect both physical and mental health. In the near term, it is associated with hunger, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, reduced diet quality, stress and difficulty managing chronic illnesses. Over time, it is associated with increased risk of chronic conditions and poorer management of existing health problems.

A 2026 umbrella review published in Nutrition Reviews found food insecurity associated with significantly higher odds of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, depression and multiple chronic conditions among adults. Researchers also describe a cyclical relationship: poor health can increase medical expenses and reduce a person’s ability to work, leaving less money for food and potentially worsening health further.

Child Development & Educational Outcomes

For children, immediate effects of food insecurity can include difficulty concentrating in school, problems with memory and attention, anxiety about whether food will be available and behavioral or emotional difficulties. Over time, research has linked childhood food insecurity to poorer developmental outcomes, lower reading and math performance, social and behavioral difficulties, and potential effects on educational attainment, employment and earning potential later in life.

Research shows that food insecurity can affect children in ways that extend beyond hunger. A nationally representative longitudinal study published in the National Library of Medicine of nearly 12,000 U.S. children examined how changes in household food insecurity were associated with children’s academic performance, executive functioning and social skills. Researchers found that worsening or persistent food insecurity was associated with challenges in areas including math, working memory, self-control, interpersonal skills and behavior. The findings suggest that both the severity and persistence of food insecurity can shape children’s development over time.

A Health & Economic Issue

Food insecurity can also create broader economic consequences. Affected workers may miss work or be less productive, families may experience lower and less stable income and increased healthcare costs can put additional pressure on household budgets. Children’s educational setbacks may also carry forward into future earnings and workforce participation.

Why Is Food Insecurity Especially Challenging in San Diego County?

The United Ways of California Real Cost Measure estimates that roughly a third of San Diego County households—more than 300,000 households representing about 880,000 people—do not earn enough to cover housing, food, transportation and other basic needs, and that nearly half of households with children under 6 struggle to afford basic necessities. Notably, 97% of these households have at least one working adult, underscoring that the issue is largely one of wages and costs rather than joblessness.

Wage benchmarks reinforce the same point. The MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates that, to cover basic needs in San Diego County, a single adult with no children needs to earn roughly $32.88 an hour (about $68,000 a year working full time), while a household of two working adults supporting two children needs roughly $37.61 an hour per adult—figures well above California’s minimum wage.

Housing costs, in particular, consume an outsized share of household income. SANDAG has described housing affordability as a significant regional problem, particularly for lower-income households. For households with limited budgets, high housing costs can leave less money available for flexible expenses such as food, increasing the risk of food insecurity.

Why Food Security Matters to Everyone

Food insecurity has consequences for San Diego County’s broader economy. A San Diego Hunger Coalition issue brief from 2025 examining potential federal policy changes estimated that if roughly 67,000 San Diegans were to lose CalFresh access, it could remove more than $250 million annually from local economic activity. When combined with administrative costs that would shift to local government, the total economic impact could exceed $550 million.

The same brief estimated that expanding CalFresh enrollment among 176,000 eligible but unenrolled residents could generate an additional $59.7 million per month in local economic activity. More recent data from March 2026 put the eligible-but-unenrolled population at roughly 190,000, with a monthly meal gap of about 4.1 million meals.

What’s Being Done About Food Insecurity in San Diego?

San Diego County addresses food insecurity through a combination of government nutrition programs, charitable food assistance, public-private partnerships and philanthropy—along with, this November, a countywide ballot measure that voters will decide on directly.

Government Nutrition Programs

Government programs form the foundation of San Diego County’s food-security safety net. CalFresh (California’s SNAP program), WIC, school and youth meal programs, senior nutrition programs, and TEFAP together help households purchase or access nutritious food at a scale that charitable organizations alone cannot replace. In March 2026, local food-assistance programs provided an estimated 29 million meals across the county, with CalFresh accounting for about 52% of that total, or roughly 15 million meals.

CalFresh provides monthly benefits through Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards that participants can use to buy groceries. Beyond its direct effect on household food budgets, Feeding America reports that every dollar in SNAP benefits is associated with up to $1.50 in local economic activity, since benefits are typically spent quickly at grocery stores and other local retailers.

Food Banks & Community Organizations

Food banks and community organizations fill gaps that public benefits do not fully cover. In June 2026, San Diego County approved a new food-distribution program in partnership with Feeding San Diego and the San Diego Food Bank to help fill service gaps as some residents face reductions or loss of CalFresh benefits.

The San Diego Food Bank and Feeding San Diego—the county’s Feeding America-affiliated food bank —are among the largest organizations distributing food regionally. They work alongside smaller community-based food pantries and meal programs.

Public-Private & Community Partnerships

Food banks and nonprofits also work directly with schools, farms, grocery stores, businesses, volunteers, healthcare partners and government agencies to distribute food, rescue surplus food, connect residents to benefits and improve access to healthy food.

Despite this network, significant unmet need remains: According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition’s March 2026 Data Release San Diego County had a monthly meal gap of roughly 4.1 million meals and an estimated 190,000 people likely eligible for CalFresh but not enrolled—underscoring the importance of both maintaining public benefits and strengthening enrollment and charitable assistance.

Philanthropy

Philanthropic organizations, including San Diego Foundation, complement government and nonprofit efforts. In response to reductions in federal funding for food, housing and healthcare programs, San Diego Foundation created the San Diego Unity Fund in the fall of 2025, a rapid-response fund to support nonprofits. As of recent reporting, the fund had raised more than $32 million and granted or committed more than $30 million to over 100 local nonprofits. Among the fund’s grantees is Mama’s Kitchen, which prepares and delivers more than 900,000 medically tailored meals annually to San Diegans living with serious and chronic illnesses. The County of San Diego joined San Diego Foundation to create the Partnership to Protect San Diegans to help support nonprofits providing essential services like food.

What is Measure B, the San Diego County Health & Safety Act?

Among the measures being considered is Measure B, also known as the San Diego County Health and Safety Act, a countywide citizen initiative on the November 2026 ballot that would provide a locally dedicated source of funding for health and safety priorities, including food assistance.

If approved by voters, Measure B could generate approximately $400 million to $450 million annually to help address federal and state budget gaps affecting healthcare and social services, the Tijuana River sewage crisis and public safety.

The measure specifies that approximately 60% of total measure revenue would support health care, childcare and related services, including nutrition assistance and addressing food insecurity. The remaining revenue would be allocated to Tijuana River Valley pollution-mitigation projects (22.5%) and public-safety services such as wildfire prevention and 911/crisis response (16%).

Like many ballot measures, Measure B raises broader public policy questions. Public discussion includes whether a permanent, dedicated local sales tax is the most appropriate way to fund these investments at a time of heightened cost-of-living pressure on residents, the respective roles of federal, state and local governments and whether funding should instead be pursued through existing budget reallocation or continued advocacy for state and federal funding. Additional information about these topics is available at SDFoundation.org/MeasureB.

Looking Ahead

Food insecurity in San Diego County remains historically high. As previously mentioned, roughly 1 in 4 San Diegans are nutrition insecure, exceeding the peak reached during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing that need will continue to involve both government nutrition programs and San Diego County’s extensive network of food banks, schools, healthcare providers, government agencies and community organizations. Changes to CalFresh eligibility, enrollment or benefits could also affect the level of demand placed on that network.

San Diego County voters will also consider Measure B in November 2026, which would provide funding for food assistance and other health and safety services.

Readers who want to follow how the issue develops can track updates from the San Diego Hunger Coalition and the County of San Diego’s data portal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is food insecurity?

The lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life due to limited resources, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It ranges from worrying about running out of food to, in severe cases, going a full day without eating.

What causes food insecurity?

In San Diego County, the leading cause is the region’s high and rising cost of living—especially housing—compounded by stagnant wages, inflation, rising household debt and changes to federal nutrition-program eligibility.

What is the difference between hunger and food insecurity?

Hunger is the physical experience of not having eaten enough. Food insecurity is the broader condition of lacking reliable access to adequate food. It can cause hunger, but also carries health, educational and economic effects even before hunger sets in.

Can someone have a full-time job and still experience food insecurity?

Yes. The United Ways of California Real Cost Measure found 97% of California households falling short of basic needs have at least one working adult. In San Diego County, high housing and living costs mean many working households still struggle to afford nutritious food.

Why is food insecurity increasing in San Diego County?

San Diego County’s high cost of living, particularly housing costs, puts sustained pressure on household budgets. Rising prices, household debt and changes to nutrition-assistance eligibility can further increase the risk of food insecurity.

Who is most likely to experience food insecurity?

San Diego Hunger Coalition data show that nutrition insecurity disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous and Hispanic/Latino residents. Children, older adults and people with disabilities also account for substantial numbers of nutrition-insecure San Diegans.

Why does food security matter to the broader community?

Food insecurity is linked to higher healthcare costs, lower workforce productivity, and worse educational outcomes for children—effects that extend beyond affected households into the region’s broader economy and public services.

What’s being done to address food insecurity in San Diego County?

Government nutrition programs such as CalFresh, WIC and school meals form the foundation of San Diego County’s food-security safety net. Food banks, community organizations and public-private partnerships, like the San Diego Unity Fund and the Partnership to Protect San Diegans, provide additional assistance. In November 2026, voters will also decide on Measure B, which would direct a portion of new sales-tax revenue toward nutrition assistance and addressing food insecurity, among other priorities.

Where can people find food assistance or nutrition support in San Diego County?

Residents can search local resources through 211 San Diego, the San Diego Hunger Coalition’s Get Food page, the County’s CalFresh application page, the San Diego Food Bank, and Feeding San Diego.