"No one wants to decide between the health and wellbeing of their child and feeding their child," says Lori Goodman, executive director at LEAP.
According to Goodman, 1 in 2 families nationwide struggle to pay for diapers.
"So you can rest assured that there are families who struggle with diapers here in Santa Barbara County," she continued.
The nonprofit organization is the only diaper bank in Santa Barbara County and distributed more than 53,000 diapers last year, costing around $20,000, according to Goodman.
"We are giving away 5,000 to 7,000 diapers a month," Goodman said.
County Supervisor Laura Capps says the need for diapers in the county is due to high poverty levels in our communities.
"Believe it or not, Santa Barbara County has the second highest rate of poverty in the entire state of California," Capps said.
To help fill the diaper gap, the Santa Barbara Women’s Commission has awarded LEAP $3,000 to fill the diaper bank.
"It's not about being a parent or not being a parent, it's about just being a part of a community and caring about the most vulnerable, which are, you know, our kids," Capps said.
Diaper Need Awareness Week is from September 23-29.
If you would like to donate diapers, you can do so at Old Town Coffee in Goleta, Trinity Church of Nazarene in Lompoc, Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, and at LEAP in Goleta. Or, donate funds to LEAP online.
