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It won’t come as news to most Outpost readers that Humboldt County’s economy has taken an epic dump over the past decade or so, thanks largely to the collapse of the commercial cannabis industry. To employ the jargon du jour, this downturn has been our lived experience. 

Which sucks, obviously, but it can be mildly satisfying to have our maladies accurately described. A new report from the UC Davis Labor and Community Center does just that, mapping our region’s economic pain through statistics and charts. While grim, the data may help validate our collective sense of financial malaise while highlighting the importance (and shortcomings) of government assistance programs. 

Drawing on data from the California Department of Social Services, the UC Davis Labor and Community Center analyzed CalFresh usage rates among various age groups.

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The news hook, if you need one, was November’s pause in funding for CalFresh (federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) due to the federal government shutdown, which temporarily cut off $5.7 million in monthly assistance to people experiencing food insecurity in Humboldt County alone.

“This financial hit to low-wage recipients, along with rising food prices and reduced federal spending on emergency food distribution, deepened food insecurity and highlighted the precarious nature of food access Californians regularly experience,” a research brief explains. “Although the November federal government shutdown ended, many factors that contribute to food insecurity in California and Humboldt County remain.”

The Center’s study examines longer-term trends in food insecurity. It found that every age group in Humboldt County saw increased CalFresh enrollment between 2014 and 2024, particularly the 18 to 59 age group, which far outpaced statewide rate increases.

As shown in the chart below, 22.5% of Humboldt County residents age 18 to 59 were enrolled in CalFresh in 2024. That’s more than twice the statewide rate of 11.1%, and the gap has been widening. From 2014-2024, this age group’s CalFresh enrollment statewide increased by 2.4%, but in Humboldt County it increased by 8.2%.

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Making matters worse, the median household income in Humboldt County has fallen further behind statewide averages, and our rate of full-time workers living in poverty nearly doubled in ten years.

In fact, in 2014 Humboldt County had a lower percentage of full-time, year-round workers living in poverty than the statewide average (3.5% versus 3.6%). By 2024, however, the statewide figure declined to just 2.2% while in Humboldt County it rose significantly to 6.2%. See the chart below.

Here’s some more data to bring the growing disparity into focus: From 2014 to 2024, the median household income in Humboldt County increased 43.2%, or $17,526. Statewide over that period, the median household income grew 61.7%, or $38,216. (All figures cited are in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars.)

Here’s what that looks like in chart form:

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Looking for yet more sobering stats? We got you:

• The number of Humboldt County residents receiving CalFresh benefits has steadily increased over the last 10 years, exceeding 30,000 individuals in 2024, a 55.5% increase since 2014.
• In 2014, Humboldt County had the 19th-highest CalFresh enrollment rate among California’s 58 counties; by 2024 we ranked 9th.
• More than 1 in 4 children in Humboldt County (28.4%) were enrolled in CalFresh in 2024, along with more than 1 in 6 seniors age 60+ (17.5%).
• Back in 2014, Humboldt County had the 16th-highest enrollment rate for working-age adults; by 2024 we ranked 5th, with more than 1 in 5 (22.4%) of our residents age 18 to 59 enrolled in CalFresh. 
• A disproportionately high percentage of workers in Humboldt County work full-time, year-round, yet live in poverty. In 2014, this rate in Humboldt County was slightly lower than the statewide average, 3.5% versus 3.6%. In 2024, however, the statewide figure decreased to just 2.2%, while in Humboldt County it rose significantly to 6.2%.

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CalFresh benefits expanded during the COVID pandemic, but the expansion was rolled back in March 2023. As a result of that rollback, resident needs increased exactly as you’d expect. Food for People (Humboldt County’s food bank) went from serving about 16,000 people per month to serving roughly 21,000, a 31% increase.

The Center’s report notes more trouble on the horizon:

“In addition to the 2025 government shutdown and the forthcoming H.R. 1-mandated cuts, the USDA also recently threatened to withhold SNAP benefits from [Democratic] states, including California, that do not comply with its demand to hand over data on SNAP enrollees, including immigration-related codes,” the report brief says.

But the bottom line, here in Humboldt, is that working full-time often isn’t enough to make ends meet. Here’s the conclusion from Jason Whisler, M.A., and Marcos Lopez, Ph.D., at UC Davis:

While unemployment contributes to CalFresh use, in Humboldt County, the wide range of low-wage employment is insufficient for workers to afford basic necessities, such as food,” the brief says. “Over the past 10 years, Humboldt County has fallen further behind the state of California in median household income and has seen a significant increase in the number of workers who work full-time, year-round, yet remain in poverty.

As a result, Humboldt County has risen in the ranks of counties with the highest CalFresh enrollment rates. Unlike household-level reports on CalFresh, this analysis shares insight into where policy changes and/or investments could address age-specific food access needs, such as improving access to jobs that provide economic security to working adults.

Our findings indicate that city-, county-, and state-level decision makers must be prepared to address the specific food access needs of nearly one-fourth of Humboldt County residents to meet the challenges posed by food insecurity compounded by federal policymaking.