For some Californians, the threat of being hungry has always haunted them. For others, the economic downturn and all that comes with it — cut wages, lost jobs, lost homes — has introduced the new fear of wondering when or where the next meal will come. Five in-depth audio reports from students in professor Sandy Tolan's (pictured, right) journalism class study the many faces of hunger in the Golden State in Staving Off Hunger: A Special Report.

• As the recession continues, more and more elderly are relying on food assistance programs like the Los Angeles Food Bank to stock their pantries. Waiting lists are growing by the day.
• Thousands of home-owners in the San Fernando Valley have lost their houses over the past year. Now they live in small apartments or with family or friends and worry about having enough money to buy food.
• Tulare County in California's Central Valley might be supplying the United States with its food, but nearly half of its residents can't afford to buy enough food for their families. The economic downturn has made things worse.
• Duroville, a labor encampment in California's Coachella Valley, is home to more than 4,000 migrant farm workers. Low wages and large families mean Duroville's residents are in constant need of food assistance.
• Researchers have found that diet -- whether it be too much or too little food -- has a profound impact on our ability to focus, concentrate and learn.

Staving Off Hunger: A Special Report