Irvine, CA — Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County hosted Hunger Action Month volunteer events at the Second Harvest Distribution Center and Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine. September is Hunger Action Month – a nationwide campaign uniting food banks, anti-hunger organizations and community members to raise awareness and inspire action against hunger. Over 100 volunteers harvested and packaged 16,000 pounds of mixed produce.
“Hunger Action Month calls on us to stand together and reaffirm our commitment to ending hunger—because when every child and every family has access to healthy food, our entire community thrives,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine). "Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, thousands of Orange County families can count on access to fresh, nutritious food. Together, we are building a stronger, more caring community.”
“We extend our gratitude to Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris for her continued partnership and commitment to supporting Hunger Action Month, and we are so grateful to the many volunteers who dedicate their time each year to help ensure our neighbors have consistent access to nutritious food,” said Claudia Bonilla Keller, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. “Throughout September, we invite our community to join us in raising awareness and taking action together to address food and nutrition insecurity in Orange County.”
In June, Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris and the California Legislature passed a state budget that demonstrates a strong commitment to addressing food insecurity through both immediate support and longer-term enhancements. Key investments:
- CalFood: Allocates $60 million to assist California food banks in purchasing California-grown foods to serve approximately 6 million Californians per month.
- School Meals for All: Allocates $1.93 billion to provide free breakfast and lunch to California’s 5.8 million TK-12 students.
- California Food Assistance Program: Increase the CFAP budget to $117.2 million by FY 2027-28 and $163.2 million by 2028-29 to ensure all Californians have access to nutritious food.
In Orange County, 360,000 individuals are food insecure—including 87,000 children. In the last fiscal year, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County distributed over 42 million pounds of food through a network of pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers, schools, colleges, universities and other community organizations throughout Orange County.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County provides dignified, equitable and consistent access to nutritious food through its network of 381 partner sites countywide. The organization was named 2024 Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris.
Since the launch in August 2021, Harvest Solutions Farm (a partnership with the University of California South Coast Research & Extension Center and Solutions for Urban Agriculture) has produced over 8 million pounds of fresh produce. Each week, the farm harvests approximately 39,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables, which are distributed within days to families in need. Since April 2023, volunteers at Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris’ Harvest Solutions Farm events have helped harvest more than 76,000 pounds of produce.
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Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris represents California’s 73rd District including Costa Mesa, Irvine and Tustin. She is the Chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee. She is also a member of the Budget Committee; Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact Committee; Insurance Committee; and, Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. After working her way through Yale University, where she double majored in Economics and English, Cottie had a successful 20-year career in finance and technology. She helped to build businesses and led teams at Fortune 500 corporations, small companies and start-ups. Follow the Assemblywoman on Instagram (@asmcottie), and Facebook (AssemblywomanCPN).
At Second Harvest Food Bank, our vision is an Orange County with food and nutritional security for all. In collaboration with our partners, we provide dignified, equitable and consistent access to nutritious food, creating a foundation for community health. Our partner network includes houses of worship, schools, after-school programs, colleges and universities, senior centers, shelters for the unhoused, soup kitchens and transitional housing facilities, with sites at 381 locations throughout the county. In fiscal year 2024-2025, we distributed 42.1 million pounds of food to an average of 458,995 neighbors in need each month. Approximately 39,000 pounds of produce are harvested each week at the 40-acre Harvest Solutions Farm in Irvine, a collaboration with Solutions for Urban Agriculture and the University of California South Coast Research & Extension Center begun in August 2021. Second Harvest is a member of the Feeding America network. For more information, visit feedoc.org.