Foodbank in the News

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is launching another season of its End Summer Hunger program, Picnic in the Park. The program provides free, healthy lunches for kids 18 and under at 12 locations across the county. Lunches are served on a first-come, first-served basis, and there are no income requirements to participate.

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A free lunch program for children under the age of 18 in Santa Barbara County starts June 12. The program, called Picnic in the Park, is hosted by the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and provides free, nutritious lunches to kids Monday through Friday. It runs for 11 weeks during the summer break at 12 locations in the county.

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A recent food drive for the Santa Barbara County Foodbank, supported by the work of local members of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the donations of county residents, has netted more than 85,000 pounds of food. On Saturday, May 13, postal service workers participated in ensuring customers were able to donate non-perishable food items by leaving them next to mailboxes before mail was delivered.

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The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is a leading organization that aims to transform hunger into health by providing food-insecure residents with regular grocery and fresh produce distributions, as well as sustainable solutions like CalFresh application assistance. The Partnership between mRelief and the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will enable the latter to maximize the impact of its CalFresh program.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is partnering with Letter Carriers for a food drive this weekend. For the first time since 2019, the Foodbank is hosting the return of the annual ‘Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive’.

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The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will benefit from the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) annual food drive on Saturday, May 13th, 2023. Postal customers can donate non-perishable food items by leaving them next to mailboxes before mail is delivered on the day of the drive. The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive accepts all shelf-stable, non-glass food items. The most needed foods for the drive are nut butters, canned protein (such as tuna, chicken and salmon), whole grain cereals, pasta, canned pasta sauce, dried beans, canned beans, canned corn, healthy soups and stews, oatmeal, bouillon, olive oil and rice.

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The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is preparing for a surge of increased need amid inflated food prices after families received their final CalFresh Emergency Allotments last [month]. The Foodbank is asking the public to help raise funds to support the children, seniors, veterans and other individuals facing food insecurity in the wake of this unprecedented loss. Thanks to the generous support of The Balay Ko Foundation, all donations up to $500,000 will be matched through June 1st, 2023.

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Everything costs more these days, but for the most vulnerable across the nation, food stamp benefits were just cut back to pre-pandemic levels. The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County now anticipates another surge in hunger. The nonprofit, which has backstopped nutritional needs across the county for more than three decades, is working to add food sources, and the Foodbank recently received a grant of $500,000 from the Balay Ko Foundation that requires community matches. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had boosted benefits in 2020 to the highest tier for recipients, ranging from an additional $95 to $400 through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Now that the national emergency is declared over, in Santa Barbara County, more than 32,000 households are affected by the end of the pandemic’s emergency food benefits.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – When it comes to food, nothing goes to waste. At least not at the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. From active composting to feeding animal farms, the local organization puts every morsel of food to good use. “We rescue two million pounds of food per year. A lot of it goes out to the community. So, it’s part of our grocery rescue program,” said warehouse manager Jesus Lopez of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

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