Mission & History

The mission of the San Diego Hunger Coalition (SDHC) is to collaborate with community partners to create equitable access to food assistance in San Diego County through research, education, and advocacy.

SDHC was established in 1974 when a group of concerned citizens came together to coordinate regional food drives during the Thanksgiving holiday season. A year later, SDHC added policy change to its strategies, advocating for a California bill to allow grocery stores to donate damaged food, which in 1977 became the nation’s first food donation liability protection law. That same year, SDHC helped start the San Diego Food Bank. In 1978, SDHC became an independent 501(c)3.

We have since built a network of over 500 organizations that look to us for informed and relevant data, leadership in advocacy and communications, and the provision of training and technical assistance. Based on our work with these partners that serve multiple vulnerable populations across various communities, we conservatively estimate that we annually reach at least 150,000 people countywide who face nutrition insecurity.