Hunger In Our Community
Merced County Food Bank (MCFB) serves as a lifeline for our community. As the agency that acquires, stores, and distributes food, we play a critical role in maintaining and improving the health of our community’s low income, and food insecure population. But the persistent effects of inflation have reduced our capacity over the last three years, and we need the help of the community to meet the increased demand for our services.
Nestled in the fertile Californian San Joaquin Valley; just 110 miles from Silicon Valley, lies Merced & Mariposa Counties, which are home to 308,290 people, and 23,178 of our children are hungry.
Hunger Is Concentrated Here
Merced County is ranked 3rd highest in the state, and Mariposa is ranked second highest for child food insecurity rate—only Imperial County has a higher child food-insecurity rate than Merced & Mariposa Counties – according to the latest Map the Meal Gap report.
That report, released earlier this month by our partner organization Feeding America, collates data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Current Population Survey to stitch together a portrait of food insecurity at the state and county levels.
The report showed that the face of hunger has changed, and so has its address.
While hunger is sometimes painted primarily as an urban problem, Feeding America’s research shows that rural communities are overrepresented among the neighborhoods most affected.
