Keynote speaker and honorable first district supervisor Salud Carbajal discussed the quality of our food distribution system, what it means when you eat “bad” food, and more at the Partner’s Summit at the Pacifica Graduate Institute on September 24th.
Highlights from Salud Carbajal’s speech:
“Simply put, bad food is bad for our health, bad for our environment, and bad for our economy.”“The question is- if we don’t find a way to improve coordination between the public, nonprofit and private sectors to change the quality of our food distribution system, what will the cost be in our future- in both lives lost and economic impacts?”
“On October 24, the 4th annual Family Day & Health Fair we will join Santa Barbara Open Streets Calles Vivas for the first time- bringing the Health Fair to this huge festival which promotes healthy living and activity by transforming Cabrillo Bvld. into a car free zone full of walking, rolling, dancing, skateboarding and many more healthy activities. We will focus on promoting access to medical care and having a medical home, and friendly, bilingual and culturally relevant education on why healthy eating and having an active, healthy family lifestyle is an important (and fun) form of preventative health care. When all families and individuals in our community are healthy, the community as a whole is a stronger and healthier place to live!”
“I believe, as the data shows, having a healthy food system is not just a public policy issue, it is a moral issue. The most disadvantaged in our community are disproportionately affected by the current system since they have limited resources, opportunities and choices for healthy alternatives.”
Erik Talkin, the Foodbank’s CEO also presented, as well as Erin Hansen, Foodbank’s Community Nutrition Coordinator. All sessions at the event discussed nutrition education, advocacy, fundraising, data analysis, CalFresh, and more.
We are thrilled that so many of our partners collaborated and enjoyed the event! If we work together, we can reach our goal of ending hunger in Santa Barbara County.
