Several local food distribution sites provide families in need with free holiday food necessities

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County says more people are food insecure this holiday season, and donations are down at the same time.
 
And while their 2023 turkey drive campaign emphasized the traditional Thanksgiving bird,  they also catered to some requests from community members.
 
We've noticed that more and more of the community is asking for our chickens, and that's because it's a little bit more culturally relevant to some of the community members. So we respond to the needs of our clients, and if they want chicken, we provide them with chicken,” said Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Communications Specialist Leana Orsua.
 
On Saturday, the Foodbank was able to distribute 800 holiday meals that were donated from the community. 
 
And though this distribution helped hundreds of families, it fell short of their goal to collect 4,000 turkeys, chickens, and hams. 
  
“What we've been seeing since the pandemic is a higher need for food. While the need has increased, the food donations have steadily decreased. And our goal at the food bank is to really make sure that families that don't have the opportunity to put a nice Thanksgiving dinner on the table have that opportunity regardless of whether or not they can afford it,” said Orsua.
 
The Unity Shoppe says they’re grateful they’ve been able to help hundreds of families heading into Thanksgiving.
 
“We've been very busy lately. We've been having between 100 and 130 customers per day,” said Unity Shoppe Worker Alondra Gomez.
 
“It’s really great for families during this time, especially when they're like struggling financially. For them to be able to enjoy it just like the little things like family meals that bring people together,” said Unity Shoppe Volunteer Sophie Hernandez.
 
Though the main distribution wrapped on Saturday, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County still accepted turkeys and other thanksgiving donations through Wednesday.
 
Those donations will be given out in early December.