In San Diego County, 1 in 7 adults (14%) and 1 in 5 children (22.3%) are struggling with food insecurity. Feeding America publishes an annual Map the Meal Gap report that uses USDA data to measure food insecurity levels and the amount of meals needed at a local level to serve families, children, military households and seniors facing hunger. San Diego County would have to provide 77 million meals annually to ensure adequate access to nutritious food for San Diegan residents. The situation in Imperial Valley, our close neighbor to the East, is even more dire, with 17% of adults and 35% of children facing hunger. It would take 5.3 million meals to meet the need in that region.

Jenny Seneor, Director of Programs for Feeding America San Diego and 2014 SDLA Institute alumna, spoke to KPBS Midday Edition on April 16th about food insecurity in the region. Jenny spoke to the reasons why families in the region face hunger; the lack of sufficient wages for the working poor in the region to make ends meet, the high cost of housing, and the high cost of food locally. The high rate of chronic illnesses such as obesity and type II diabetes amongst low-income families was addressed and the on-going need to provide low-income families in the region access to healthy, nutritious food.

Generations of Progress, the 2015 SDLA Fellows' Fundraiser, is celebrating years of progressive inspirations. Read about icons from previous generations that have influenced our Fellows, then mark your calendar to join us on May 19th!

The theme of the 2015 SDLA Fellows Fundraiser is Generations of Progress, and the event is just around the corner! As our class looks forward to celebrating and honoring progressive work in San Diego, we also wanted to take time to reflect on personal inspirations that invigorate us and influence the work we do. Please read below for our first of four posts to learn more about the class of 2015.

We hope you’ll join us the evening of May 19th for Generations of Progress and share with us what inspires you!