Community Insider Summer 2019 | Page 18

CAI FEEDS SAN DIEGO WITH FEEDING SAN DIEGO By Amber Korody throughout San Diego County. Their research is highlighted below: F or the past few years, CAI San Diego has partnered with Feeding San Diego in a community effort to support hungry households. Established in 2007, Feeding San Diego continues to support impoverished families through respect, urgency, integrity, health/nutrition, and innovation. Feeding San Diego is a non- profit organization with a 501c (3) filing status and a member of the national organization, Feeding America. In 2018, Feeding America published a study called “Map the Meal Gap” that estimated the rate of food insecurity 18 | SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY INSIDER SUMMER 2019 • 379,130 people in San Diego County are food insecure (11.7% of total population). • Feeding San Diego is home to the 7th largest number of children facing hunger in the US, with 127,280 children in San Diego County being food insecure. • 67% of children at risk of hunger in San Diego County are eligible for federal nutrition programs (free or reduced-price school lunch or breakfast). • The average cost of a meal in San Diego County is $3.36, higher than the national average of $3.00. • The annual meal gap for Feeding San Diego’s service area is nearly 65,000,000 meals. Feeding San Diego works in various ways through financial donations, grocery stores, manufacturers, farmers, restaurants, and local retailers. Much of the food that is organized and distributed to the neighborhoods is done through volunteers or community partners and never enters their