California Endowment Health Journalism Fellow Jason Kane produced a story for PBS NewsHour about health issues associated with malnutrition and the prevalence of “food insecurity” in Orange County.

Read more about the entire fellowship project.

Food insecurity is the term applied to people who struggle to provide food for themselves and their children. While Orange County is notoriously wealthy, a stigma proliferated by numerous reality television shows, it is home to more than 150,000 children who are underfed. Because of the high cost of living in Orange County, low-income workers have a hard time affording basic needs, such as food.

In response to this growing problem, Orange County food banks, doctors and other County residents have teamed up to create the “Waste Not OC” coalition that aims to convince nearby restaurants, hotels, sports centers, and theme parks to donate un-served perishable food so they can give it to families in need.

They have also created an interactive map for consumers to find the participating food banks. Their next goal is to have doctors begin asking questions regarding food availability during primary care visits.

The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship is a program that gives mid-career journalists the resources and training to investigate and report on health. The all-expenses-paid program was founded by USC Annenberg in 2005.

Read more about "Waste Not OC" here.