Food bank and fishermen deliver fresh seafood to low-income families

Food banks provide millions of pounds of food to low-income families, but fresh, locally caught fish isn’t typically on the shelves. A new partnership with San Diego fishermen is changing that.

Why it matters: While helping reduce food insecurity, it expands access to fresh, nutrient-dense seafood and keeps local fishermen’s catches in the community.

Driving the news: This fall, the San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group began supplying more than 1,000 pounds of fish like tuna, swordfish, and halibut to local food banks each month.

• The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank secured a $100,000 grant from the San Diego Foundation to buy the fish and distribute it through their networks through February 2025.
• It creates a new revenue source for the fishing industry and delivers healthy, locally sourced seafood to people who can’t typically afford it.

Stunning stats: One in four San Diegans are nutrition-insecure, meaning they can’t consistently provide three daily nutritious meals for themselves or their families.

• More than 100,000 kids experience food insecurity in the county.

What they’re saying: “People are trying to work together to help one another,” said Peter Halmay, an 83-year-old urchin diver and president of the fishermen’s group.

• “We want to bypass the middleman, stop shipping [local fish] around the world and start shipping it to the 3 million residents of San Diego,” he told Axios.

Zoom in: After being caught, the fish are taken to a local chef to be cleaned and cut into individual portions that are then vacuum-sealed and frozen.

• The next day, they’re picked up and sent to food banks and feeding programs around the county.

The intrigue: The partnership has encouraged local fishermen to bring bigger hauls to the weekly Tuna Harbor Dockside Market because whatever they don’t sell there can find its way to families in need at a discounted price.

• Buying local seafood leads to a shorter supply chain and reduces their carbon footprint too, according to Halmay.
• “It’s healthy, it’s good for the planet and it’s good for conservation,” he said.