SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Santa Barbara City College has a food pantry that has found a new way to help during the COVID19 pandemic. The pantry teamed up with Santa Barbara County Foodbank to host a Food Pantry Drive-Thru on Wednesday afternoon.
As the stay at home orders continue, there has been an increase in food insecurity in the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara County residents. Without income sources, and many people not getting unemployment benefits and/or stimulus checks yet, places for food donations have been vital to fending off hunger.
Through a $500,000 product donation to Meals on Wheels West, Santa Barbara nutritional formula company Kate Farms will provide more than 100,000 meals to seniors facing food insecurity in California.
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is piloting a new program designed to provide prepared meals to seniors, while also helping local restaurants. The program, called Chef’s Kitchen, was launched with a trial distribution this week in which the Foodbank delivered 1,000 meals from chefs at Acme Hospitality.
Though humans thrived here for millennia without planting seeds or herding animals, the phenomenal success of California's short-lived agricultural experiment is staggering on a planetary scale, and represents barely over a century of building the highly productive food systems that benefit us all today. The farmers who manage the fields, orchards and vineyards of our Golden State contribute greatly to the common good by providing abundant food from an astonishing variety of crops.
Food Not Bombs Isla Vista, an organization that provides free home-cooked vegan meals for the homeless, has continued to distribute food during the coronavirus crisis. “When systems fail to provide people with essential goods and services…it is up to community members to take action and fill the voids until those systems are repaired or replaced,” said volunteer Jonathan Dickstein.
The Organic Soup Kitchen donated gallons of soup to the medical staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital during the COVID-19 crisis.
A big fire service shout-out to World Central Kitchen and Rincon Brewery who have partnered to deliver meals to Santa Barbara City Fire, Carpinteria-Summerland Fire & Santa Barbara County Fire Departments.
A big fire service shout-out to World Central Kitchen and Rincon Brewery who have partnered to deliver meals to Santa Barbara City Fire, Carpinteria-Summerland Fire & Santa Barbara County Fire Departments.
Local farmers' markets are helping low-income community members buy fresh fruits and vegetables during this pandemic. Select farmers' markets in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties have been accepting CalFresh benefits, formerly known as "Food Stamps" 2015. Now, those farmers' markets are also participating in the "Market Match Program" where CalFresh participants can earn more money for groceries whenever they shop at farmers' markets.