There is one particular and singular feeling growing slowly but surely throughout the city: frustration. No one has to be told how eggs are the price of a full meal or how food has become the new luxury. A luxury once defined by the likes of handbags and designer belts now equates to your nearest produce aisle. No one needs to be informed because we feel the brunt of this new reality every day. There are no off days when it comes to hunger because food is not and never will be optional. What was once recognized as the essential is now profited and marketed as exclusive.
Without a doubt, there is general awareness regarding this issue, but can the same be said for a solution? One does not have to dig deep in order to see just how much the average food expense is. Yet, when trying to access community outreach programs or local food banks, there is a clear lack of consistent resources and reach. Solutions are already in place but they just are not being funded enough, nor given top priority. The solution to solving California’s hunger problem has already been designed but has not been built. I went to investigate some of those solutions myself. I found a lot more than stale cans of food and sympathetic smiles; it would be cheesy to say hope, and would also not be accurate to equate to anything else.
As I walk down the path to my local food bank — a different place yet the same situation I have experienced before — I enter into the sea of varied people neatly filed. I mentally take stock of the emptiness in my cabinet. It’s weird how food needs to be eaten and cannot sit upon shelves like some sort of decorative vase. I start to pick up that I’m not alone in this thought. I see faces, young and old with different looks, heights, and sizes. It feels a bit like an experiment to see so many people all in the same place and for once all for the same thing. I became anxious with the usual doom thought process that someone will see me in need and won’t be able to give, much like when my EBT benefits were cut off. I left with my face warm from the sun and my bag full of organic, fresh, and varied food and two bouquets of flowers.
There really are hopes for better food autonomy and natural resources. I had the pleasure of interviewing Natalie Flores-Blackner, founder and creator of Nourish LA, a non-profit organization reducing food waste and stampeding hunger throughout greater Los Angeles. Like a beacon of hope, this foundation shines a blueprint for the future of providing food security and overall decreasing food waste. They provide multiple locations on the Westside for local communities to have access to free and fresh produce and food. Alongside the food pantry program, Nourish LA also champions food waste reduction with their Good Karma Gardens where locals can refurbish their lawns into thriving ecosystems and community gardens. The prime goal of these programs goes beyond feeding the locals. Flores-Blackner encourages the maximization and utilization of the machine that is grocery store waste in order to sustain rather than discard. “People need food to sustain themselves fully without shame or judgement of needing help,” said Flores-Blackner. “We are made to help and truly rely on one another. It’s simply part of our DNA. People need people.”
Pressingly, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act plans to make several cuts towards CalFresh food stamps funding, including about $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through 2034. According to a report conducted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, these cuts will reduce the “federal contribution to states’ SNAP programs […] shifting the costs to already strained state budgets.” According to USDA, “overall food prices are anticipated to rise slightly faster than the historical average rate of growth. In 2025, prices for all food are predicted to increase 2.9 percent, with a prediction interval of 2.0 to 3.9 percent. ” This means the urgency of local and federally funded programs, such as food pantries and food drives, is ever greater. The blueprint is drafted and already written. Lawmakers and local assembly have the resources local programs need to reach whole communities.
Above all, there is hope (begrudgingly). We are not in charge of food inflation rates, gas prices, or spending bills. We are the consumers, we are the workers, and we are those who need to stay full, happy, and alive. Change must be made in the direction of the people, not the profit. People are truly fulfilled, happy, and able to work when they are fed. Who knew?
