Hunger in San Diego is not a mystery or an unsolvable problem. In this episode of Dreaming Big Working Hard, I sit down with Casey Castillo of the San Diego Food Bank to talk about what food insecurity really looks like in our region and how we close the gap between what families earn and what it actually costs to live here.

Casey shares how 848,000 San Diegans — teachers, seniors, military families, kids — are navigating impossible choices as rent, groceries, utilities and medical bills all rise at the same time. We dig into the 43-day federal shutdown and the decision that left 400,000 SNAP recipients and thousands of federal and military workers without the benefits and paychecks they had earned.

You’ll hear how the Food Bank and more than 450 local partners mobilized overnight with locally sourced food, volunteers and donors to keep families afloat — and why the crisis didn’t end when the government reopened. We also talk about seniors, pet food, CalFresh, and how state and federal policy can either deepen or close the hunger gap.

Most importantly, we share concrete ways you can help, whether you need support yourself or are ready to give.