BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A worrying new normal is unfolding in Kern County: swelling lines at food distributions as more families scramble for basic meals.

Food banks across the region are straining under record demand and behind the numbers are young people like 15-year-old Xavier Chocoteco, who has become the primary provider for his family.

Xavier, a Highland High School student, says hunger was a daily reality.

“It made me feel tired,” he said. “When I was tired, I would find a way to get my energy through school-provided food.”

Those experiences place him among the 22.8% of Kern County children who faced food insecurity in 2022, according to recent data.

For Xavier, the statistic represents more than a number it’s the reason he wakes up before sunrise each morning to secure f

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