Hundreds of thousands of farm acres in California won't be growing crops for lack of water. This means higher prices for produce and that will affect food banks throughout the state.
The State of California is giving $25 million in extra aid to food banks in 24 counties affected by the drought.
Mike Mallory is with Second Harvest Food Bank which serves the Mother Lode, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties. He says the drought is putting increasing numbers of people out of work.
"It's sad but it's going to go up, how much I don't know, but as people relocate and try to find jobs, we're going to see the need go up."
Food banks in California feed 2 to 3 million people a year, and most of the food they provide has to be purchased.
Sue Sigler of the California Association of Food Banks says the food banks expect to be hit with higher costs for fresh produce because of the drought.
"We know that we will be able to get adequate amounts of product but we also know that it's going to be more expensive," Sigler says.
The state aid will be available to food banks in early May.
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.