Countywide, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County serves more than 200,000 people every year. That’s over one in three people who are not able to afford basic needs like groceries.
"Essentially, the Foodbank is the food hub of Santa Barbara County," said Natalie Keller, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Chief Development Officer.
According to the USDA, food prices have increased 25% over the last four years. To address the growing need and to better respond to disasters, the Foodbank is working toward opening a "Share House" in South County.
"It just didn't make sense for the Foodbank to be the food supplier during the disaster and have food that is stuck in North County," said Greg Mora, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Development Director.
The new Share House is over 50,000 square feet and has the potential to store 1.2 million pounds of disaster-dedicated food.
"The freezer and refrigerator space alone is about 5,000 square feet which increases our cold storage capacity ten times what we currently have today," Mora said.
Along with more storage, the facility will have a larger shipping and handling capacity with the ability to accept up to 80,000 pounds of food a week.
"We can use more food donations, but because of the Foodbank's purchasing power, we could transform every dollar donated into $5 worth of groceries," Mora said.
The Share House is set to be complete by the spring of 2025.
