Noozhawk Asks: Whats Your Question
Welcome to Noozhawk Asks, a new feature in which you ask the questions, you help decide what Noozhawk investigates, and you work with us to find the answers.
Heres how it works: You share your questions with us in the nearby box. In some cases, we may work with you to find the answers. In others, we may ask you to vote on your top choices to help us narrow the scope. And well be regularly asking you for your feedback on a specific issue or topic.
We also expect to work together with the reader who asked the winning questions to find the answer together. Noozhawks objective is to come at questions from a place of curiosity and openness, and we believe a transparent collaboration is the key to achieve it.
The results of our investigation will be published here in this Noozhawk Asks section. Once or twice a month, we plan to do a review of what was asked and answered.
Thanks for asking!
At The Foodbank We Are Not Only Concerned With Keeping People Fed Today But We Are Also Working To Ensure The Healthy Future Of Our Community
The Foodbank is committed to finding solutions for the children, working families and seniors facing hunger in Santa Barbara County. Part of the Foodbanks efforts to establish community food security also involves teaching people how to grow their own food and allowing the community to donate produce from their own properties.
Together, we can make sure everyone in our community has access to the healthy food and vital nutrition education they need to thrive.
To learn more about Foodbank programs , click the name of a program series below.
We listen and learn with our 300+ nonprofit partners, always with our goal in mind: an end to hunger in Santa Barbara County.
The Food Bank Of Santa Barbara County Transforms Hunger Into Health For All
Getting from hunger to health requires understanding the difference between eating enough calories and choosing healthy foods. The Food Bank is pushing beyond the traditional scope of a food bank by providing more than just food.
The annual âGlobal Day of Givingâ is upon us this holiday season and what better way to give back to your community then joining in on #GivingTuesday by donating to the organizations that make Santa Barbara a place we are proud to call home.
Noozhawk is teaming up with local nonprofits to encourage you to take part in the international day of giving, which takes place on November 30th, 2021.
It is no secret that this pat year and a half has been full of challenges. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic local nonprofits need your support now more than ever. Our Good for Santa Barbara Nonprofit Section provides all the resources you need to donate this holiday season!
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Judith Smith-Meyer, Senior Communications Manager at Food Bank of Santa Barbara County, to learn more about how the nonprofit is dedicated to ending hunger and transforming the health of Santa Barbara County through good nutrition.
Also Check: North East Iowa Food Bank
Recommended Reading: Food Bank Central And Eastern Nc
Annual Food And Funds Drives:
Fill the Foodbank! NovemberThis drive-through event supports the Foodbank in our mission to provide nutritious food to thousands of hungry children, seniors, and families during the Holiday season.
Turkey Drive NovemberDonate a bird and help the Foodbank ensure that every family has a nourishing holiday meal.
Stamp Out Hunger May, NovemberSponsored by the United States Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers. Leave a bag of non-perishable food next to your mailbox and your letter carrier will deliver your donation to the Foodbank. *Cancelled this year due to COVID*
The End Hunger Games: A Corporate Challenge NovemberThe Corporate Challenge is a friendly competition among local companies to give dollars, food, and time to the Foodbank and join the fight against hunger. For more information on how to participate contact Senior Development Manager Nathalie Keller,
More Information And Resources
- To speak with a Foodbank representative for assistance: 967-5741
- Your family may qualify for CalFresh. CalFresh is a nutrition program that helps you feed your family healthy meals every day. It takes just 20 minutes to apply.
- Find out more about all Foodbank Programs for children, families and seniors.
- Find a free lunch for a child this summer with the Picnic in the Park Program.
Don’t Miss: Donating Money To Food Banks
Visit Santa Barbara Job Fair
Visit Santa Barbara will hold its third Hospitality Career Fair from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 at The Leta Hotel at 5650 Calle Real in Goleta.
Job seekers interested in positions with Santa Barbara South Coast lodging properties, restaurants and local attractions are encouraged to attend, according to Brooke Holland, the public relations manager for Visit Santa Barbara.
The event will feature a dozen local businesses looking to hire staff for a variety of roles, from entry-level reservationists or housekeepers to program directors in upper management. Participating employers include Courtyard by Marriott Santa Barbara Goleta El Capitan Canyon El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort Hotel Californian Hotel Santa Barbara PRA Santa Barbara Ramada by Wyndham Santa Barbara Residence Inn by Marriott Santa Barbara Goleta Santa Barbara Inn Santa Barbara Zoo and Westmont College, according to a news release.
Spanish- and English-speaking staff members will be present to help facilitate interviews and discussion.
We are thrilled to host our third career fair this year, says Kathy Janega-Dykes, president/CEO of Visit Santa Barbara. Our previous career fairs have successfully connected job seekers to their future employers. Since the pandemic, many local businesses have been experiencing staffing shortages, and we are committed to supporting workforce development for the hospitality industry.
Enhance Your Marketing Strategy
Level up your game of marketing using a marketing database, offered by Aeroleads.This feature has been verified and checked by both â our automated software as wellas our team with no fake profiles on the list. The database of Aeroleads has a plethoraof professionals with their names, phone numbers, addresses, etc of top marketing professionalsand companies. The list will aid in building a better marketing campaign for your target audience.
Also Check: Gods Pantry Food Bank Lexington Ky
Free Food Banks Groceries And Soup Kitchens Santa Barbara County
Find the locations, phone numbers, and addresses of churches, food banks, free pantries and distribution centers across Santa Barbara County. Most of the centers near you are set up as non-profit organizations. A number of sites provide free meals, groceries and give away free food today and daily to people of all backgrounds that may be faced with an emergency or crisis situation. Find details below as well as a phone number at the bottom of the page for more food assistance programs in Santa Barbara.
Each facility offers its own type of assistance. Some food banks provide fruits, vegetables, meats, baby formula and breads. Others may offer more so called food boxes or give away free grocery bags which contain groceries and other non-perishable items. So what is available from each pantry will vary widely. Many also provide free Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners or food boxes.
In addition, some centers have on-site thrift stores or clothing closets for work or school clothes, furniture, or personal hygiene products. If you are going through a difficult period, never hesitate to contact a Santa Barbara California food bank for help or information on local assistance programs.
Catholic Charities Community Services oversees, in partnership with other local charities, churches and non-profits, the food banks listed below. The main phone number is 684-8621. Or a Santa Barbara County resident can drop in if they live near a site.
Read Also: Community Food Bank Of Nj
Frozen Turkey Drop Off Locations
SLO Food Bank
SLO Food Bank Warehouse – San Luis Obispo, 1180 Kendall Rd. 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
California Fresh Market – Pismo Beach, 555 5 Cities Dr. 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Vons – Atascadero, 7135 El Camino Real 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Good Samaritan Shelter
Good Samaritan Shelter – Santa Maria, 245 E. Inger Dr, Suite 103-B 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
News Channel 12 Studios – Santa Maria, 1211 W McCoy Ln. 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Read Also: Food Bank Of Santa Barbara
Tax Filings And Audits By Year
The IRS Form 990 is an annual information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly. Read the IRS instructions for 990 forms.
If this organization has filed an amended return, it may not be reflected in the data below. Duplicated download links may be due to resubmissions or amendments to an organizationâs original return.
Nonprofit organizations that spend $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a fiscal year are required to submit an audit covering their finances and compliance. Some of these are program specific, while others, called single audits, look at the entire organization. Nonprofit Explorer has PDFs of these audits for some nonprofits for fiscal year 2015 and later. Theyre provided by the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.
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The Internal Revenue Service is substantially delayed in processing and releasing nonprofit filings, so documents available here may not be the most recent an organization has filed. ProPublica posts new tax forms as they are released by the IRS.
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About This Data
Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.
Which Organizations Are Here?
You May Like: Northern Illinois Food Bank Mobile Pantry
Foodbank Of Santa Barbara County Kicks Off First Annual Foodbank Giving Day
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Starting on Thursday, Oct. 13, every donation made to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will be doubled.
“This is the first annual Giving Day .. at the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County … and its a day of action, love and hope the community can get involved,” said chief development officer Alisse Harris of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
This means all donations will be doubled up to $150,000.
“So were really hoping to energize the community health put twice as many healthy meals on the tables, and provide more health and nutrition throughout Santa Barbara County, and make an impact to those again who are facing hunger and insecurity,” said Harris.
Managers with the foodbank say they hope this fundraiser will help families in need, especially going into the holidays.
“My hope with giving day is that the community looks around and sees the fact that many people right now are struggling food costs are high and when they see their neighbors struggling they step forward, and say I can help,” said capital campaign director Dan Thomas of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. “And that were trying to complete funding on that will really really extend our service in the community in some wonderful ways.”
Judith Smith-Meyer of the foodbank believes hard working community members throughout Santa Barbara County are struggling as we head into the holidays for many reasons.
She believes nutritious food is key to productivity and wellness.
Recommended Reading: Food Bank Donation Drop Off
Foodbank Of Santa Barbara County Opens New Facility In Goleta
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. The new warehouse for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County may not look like much right now.
This is the new mystery place. We have been wanting to show people for a long time,â said CEO Erik Talkin of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
âAt the moment its empty, and we will be fitting out this warehouse,â said Talkin.
The CEO says the current facility is running out of space for incoming food.
âWe had converted a fire station in Santa Barbara for 30 years ⦠and weve been making it work. But its too small, and its not really up to the task at the level which we are serving. So we are very excited. This is the first of its kind in Goleta for the foodbank,â said senior communications manager of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
The foodbank already purchased the building.
Now, the organization is launching a $6 million Sharehouseâ campaign to raise money for services and upgrades.
Even though its not ready to be operational, we are inviting the community to join us to get a preliminary look ⦠do lots of fun activities ⦠try some food samples ⦠on Saturday,â said Smith-Meyer.
While this new facility is still going through upgrades, its expected to be fully operational by next summer.
âItâs for the entire community ⦠a big part of the goal is to be able to serve everyone in the community,â said Smith-Meyer.
Food Bank Of Santa Barbara County
Question: What is the name & mission of your nonprofit?
Answer: The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County transforms hunger into health for families, children, individuals and older adults by providing nutritious groceries and fresh produce to those who need them, and, for everyone, the skills and knowledge to employ food to achieve optimal wellness. The Foodbanks countywide Disaster Feeding Plan has and continues to guide an ongoing emergency response to the Covid-19 economic crisis.
Q: How long has your nonprofit been in service and whom was it started by?
A: The Foodbank was launched in 1982. Were proud to celebrate 40 years of service Santa Barbara County in 2022.
Q: What was the inspiration behind your nonprofit?
A: The Foodbank evolved in response to community members caring for others who did not have enough food to eat.
Were pleased to remain agile to respond as our community and the circumstances we face continue to evolve as well. From natural disasters like fire and debris flow, to problems like federal government shutdowns that leave thousands of steadily employed residents suddenly without paychecks for months, to protracted economic and health crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Foodbank has remained an agile support for those in the community facing food insecurity and hunger for any reason.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded and what are your greatest needs?
Q: How has COVID-19 impacted your nonprofit?
Also Check: Alameda County Food Bank Donations
What Every Emergency Food Provider Can Do To Boost Client Health: A Dialogue On Food Insecurity And The Management Of Chronic Disease With Dr Hilary Seligman
Dr. Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS
Dr. Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine within UC San Franciscos Center For Vulnerable Populations and a general internist at San Francisco General Hospital. She is also affiliated with the UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment. Dr. Seligmans work focuses on food security and its effect on the development and management of chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and heart failure.
There is a reasonable amount of awareness about the health burden that food insecurity places on early childhood development, but not so much with adults, and I find that a really interesting element of your research.
We have largely ignored the long-term health implications of food insecurity among adults. And so what Ive tried to do is firstly figure out if there are health implications for adults, and yes there do seem to be important health implications. Theyre a little harder to talk about because its a little more complicated than just saying iron deficiency anemia, but I think the message needs to get out there that food insecurity has nutritional implications that are important, not only for children, but for adults too.
We all get so amped up trying to save the next generation that we forget the current one and that would be you and me, folks!
Yes, and food insecure adults required about five more physician encounters per year than those that are food secure.
RESOURCE
Foodbank Of Santa Barbara County’s Current Facility Is So Small It Frequently Has To Turn Away Food Donations
A non-profit agency which feeds tens of thousands of people in need a month on the Central and South Coasts needs some help itself, and is asking the community for support.
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County has been handing out a record amount of food during the last few years due to the pandemic. But, it’s been frustrating for the the organization because they literally had to turn down some food donations because of a lack of adequate storage space.
“Our old warehouse on Hollister Avenue is a converted fire station,” saidEric Talkin, who is Foodbanks Chief Executive Officer.
He says they literally have to turn down thousands of pounds of food a week because they dont have the room to properly store it.
The non-profit now has an answer. It bought a massive, nearly 60,000 square foot warehouse in Goleta. Its raised $15 million to pay for the Coramar Drive building in Goleta. They now need the communitys help in remodeling it to handle food.
“It needs a lot of work done to it. We need to build cooler freezers, we need to do the roof,” said Talkin.
He said theyre trying to raise $6 million to refurbish the warehouse, as well as to support current food distribution programs.
On Saturday, September 18, Foodbank is going to give the community its first look at its new Sharehouse facility with what its calling the
Judith Smith-Meyer is with Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
“We’re inviting people out from 12 to 3 .” said Smith-Meyer.
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Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste
If the disaster in this bogus TV report actually happened, would you have the resources and expertise to tackle it?
How can we obtain those resources for our organizations and at the same time have them do the double duty of serving to build the totality of our organization during all the times when our main focus is on another disaster, the daily disaster of hunger.
Wait! This is the Hunger into Health blog. Education and empowerment. The blog that never met a vegetable it didnt like. What have I got to contribute in the specialized disaster world of tough looking men and women supping coffee and barking into sat phones as they tap on crush-proof laptops?
Especially since my main experience of natural disaster as a resident of Santa Barbara prior to 2017 was this:
But then in Dec 2017 that all changed. Hell came to Paradise the Thomas Fire.
Wed had a few large-ish fires before, but nothing like this.
- Went on for a month and burned 440 sq miles.
- Largest CA wildfire in history at the time.
- 2 dead and over 2.2 billion in damages.
- Destroyed 1,063 structures
- 104, 607 residents forced to evacuate in SB and Ventura Counties.
And one of evacuating families was mine. Heres my daughter Mia ready to face the dangerous air quality.
We figured the major inconvenience of evacuation was going to be the end of it. But then, fate, like Steve Jobs, threw one more thing
Torrential rain met burned soil loosened from the fire and swept down the hillsides of Montecito.