Moving Our Feet to Grow a Beet

Who: Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara (USSB) Congregants and Bucket Brigade Volunteers. (Please note: This event is not open to the public, due to Covid-19 restrictions.)  

What: USSB Congregants and Bucket Brigade Volunteers will be participating in a private, Covid-Safe Garden Walk fun stroll through downtown Santa Barbara and participate in activities, a raffle and Food Drive to support the S.B.C. Food Bank.  

When: Saturday, November 14, 2020, 9am to Noon 

Where: Santa Barbara, California 

Why: The Garden Walk will raise awareness about the issue of hunger in Santa Barbara County and promote the Bucket Brigade’s Growing Community humanitarian gardening project, that is supporting the community to grow food in gardens for the Food Bank.  

For more information: E-mail or call Maureen Claffey, Director of Congregational Life, at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara.  

November is when we celebrate the harvest and Thanksgiving and it’s a natural time to think of food scarcity, hunger and creating a community food surplus with our gardens. With food justice in mind, the entire Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara (USSB) community is invited to participate in a fun Garden Walk and Food Drive on Saturday, November 14, from 9am to Noon. (This event is closed to the public, due to Covid-19.)  

“Food justice is an extremely important issue to the Unitarian Society. So, the Garden Walk will be a fun, safe, way for us to be together and work to end hunger,” said Maureen Claffey, Director of Congregational Life at USSB. “Our congregation is excited to partner with the Bucket Brigade to highlight their awesome Growing Community project that aims to provide extra fruits and vegetables to the Food Bank.”  

In alignment with public health requirements, the Garden Walk will feature a Food Drive and offer a fun, Covid-safe gathering that will raise awareness about hunger in Santa Barbara County and promote the Bucket Brigade’s new Growing Community initiative. (All participants are required to wear a facemask and stay six-feet apart, at all times.) By wearing green and signage about the Growing Community Project, the Garden Walk participants will hopefully spark the curiosity of local residents about the Growing Community project and start a conversation about the issue of hunger in Santa Barbara, as they wander through the streets. 

The Garden Walk will begin at staggered start-times between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Participants will register, drop off items for the Food Drive and then follow the Garden Walk route from USSB at 1535 Santa Barbara Street, down to the Farmers Market. (Food collected at the Food Drive will be delivered later that day to the Santa Barbara County Food Drive.) Along the Garden Walk route, there will be fun and engaging information stations about hunger and the Growing Community project. The Garden Walk will end near the weekly Saturday Farmers Market, where participants can go to support local farmers, if they choose. Garden Walk participants will receive a raffle ticket and fun prize upon completion of the walk.   

USSB is delighted to partner with the Bucket Brigade in support of their Growing Community Project. The Growing Community Project is a community initiative to encourage and support anyone who wants to grow specific high-need foods for the Food Bank. (People who sign-up are given seeds, plant starts and more to support their home gardens and volunteers will collect their crops for the Food Bank.) At the Garden Walk, Bucket Brigade volunteers will table at two locations: in front of the USSB Sanctuary and in the Sunken Gardens. There, the Bucket Brigade volunteers will discuss the Growing Community project and encourage sign-ups, volunteers, donations and more.  

Beyond sparking a conversation about hunger and the Growing Community, and providing a fun and healthy diversion, the purpose of the USSB Garden Walk is to promote food justice in Santa Barbara County through joyful action. As a spiritual religious organization, and part of the national Unitarian Universalist Association, USSB (led by Rev. Julia Hamilton) is a place for people of all faith backgrounds to pursue social justice and spirituality together. For more information, visit: www.ussb.org.