Feeding Laguna Beach: Coronavirus Economic Fallout Continues

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Though coronavirus numbers are falling across Orange County, a hunger crisis persists, officials say. Across the county, food banks such as the Laguna Food Pantry, Second Harvest Food Bank and OC Food Bank are still facing a long haul in feeding residents who are unable to provide for their families.

Unemployment is still a problem for 7.4 percent of residents, according to California's Employment Development Department. According to statistics released by Second Harvest, over 450,000 Orange County residents are at risk of going hungry every month.

"Most of the hungry are the working poor, who are trying their best to provide food for their families or seniors on a fixed income who simply cannot make ends meet," a spokesperson for the Laguna Food Pantry says. Still more are impacted by Coronavirus-related unemployment, forcing them to make hard choices between buying food, paying for medications, or paying for their rent.

A year of uncertainty, debt, unpaid rent, lost savings and no regular paychecks have made those already vulnerable in Orange County even more so, says Second Harvest Food Bank Chief Executive Harald Herrmann. In a report from the Daily Pilot, Herrmann explained that though vaccinations create more optimism in broad strokes, the residents hard-hit by the financial aspects of the pandemic will still need area food banks for the foreseeable future.

Residents are not just in need of food, but also sundry items, according to the Community Action Partnership of Orange County. In December, the partnership, together with MOMS Orange County and the Disneyland Resort VoluntEARS, the group donated their 5 millionth diaper to families in need. At that event, families received diapers, wipes, and other essential baby items at a recent drive-thru distribution event, a Disneyland spokesperson Kyleigh Johnson says. The week before, 30 pallets of food were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. These were pantry stable items from the resort, along with soups and meat.

During the pandemic, the Disneyland Resort and its volunteer arm "Disney VoluntEARS" donated over half a million pounds of food to area food banks, as well as over $5 million in surplus merchandise.

In 2020 and early 2021, food banks like the Laguna Food Pantry saw their customers more than double. Many of their customers never imagined finding themselves at a food pantry, Executive Director Anne Belyea said in December. At that time, the pantry donated food, PPE and other items to 200 customers a day.

The pantry thrives off of donations, which enable them to buy food from local distributors and grocery stores. In 2020, they distributed over 400,000 pounds of rescued food.

"We provide milk, eggs, produce, meat, shelf-stable items for our customers, about 50 pounds of groceries per family, a week," Belyea says. "All of them are South County families."

At the Laguna Food Pantry, things work differently in the time of coronavirus. Volunteers pack boxes and bags for shoppers and distribute them in the parking lot in a drive-thru service.

Find them online at lagunafoodpantry.org

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, about 42 million Americans may not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.

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