The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is seeking a donation of land in the Santa Barbara area for a new food warehouse.
Foodbank CEO Erik Talkin says the agency doesn’t have enough room to accept the food needed to serve people in the county and has to turn away about 2.2 million pounds of food every year. He says the current facility in Goleta does not have a loading dock, so much of the food that serves the South County has to be received at the North County warehouse.
The Foodbank leases its current South County warehouse from the County of Santa Barbara for $1 a year, but Foodbank officials say zoning restrictions prevent it from making any improvements.
The Foodbank is looking for land that is zoned industrial or commercial, 2-acres or larger, with or without a structure, on Santa Barbara County’s South Coast, with accessibility for large trucks, close to Highway 101, and parking for at least 30 vehicles. If the land already includes a building, officials ask that it be a minimum of 20,000 square feet of warehouse space, 3,000 square feet of cooler space, 4,500 square feet of office space, and 19 usable feet in height.
