FoodbankSBC
By the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County announces the successful completion of a major fundraising campaign – Building Readiness: Campaign for a Hunger-free Tomorrow – to purchase and modify its new Sharehouse facility in Goleta.
When it becomes operational – in fall 2023 – Sharehouse will allow the Foodbank to provide increased healthy food for community members countywide who face hunger and food insecurity, and will ensure that south county is adequately prepared for emergency food needs during future large-scale disasters. It will also make it possible for the Foodbank to train thousands of volunteers, and further develop nutrition education curriculum and partnerships.
Over the course of an 18-month-long private fundraising period and a four-month public campaign that concluded on December 31, 2022, the Foodbank raised $20 million. The funds have completed the purchase of the building in Goleta, and will pay for retrofitting, repairs, modifications and equipping the new facility, even with rising costs of materials and labor.
“This campaign was successful thanks to individual contributions from $20 donations to leadership gifts of over $1 million, along with public, private and government sources,” explained Foodbank CEO Erik Talkin. “The Sharehouse truly belongs to the entire community.”
“Now that full funding is in place, the real work has just begun,” Talkin continued. “We’ll undertake the process of making the building fit for purpose. We expect to open the
Sharehouse in fall 2023, when it will serve all of Santa Barbara County to ensure healthy food for those who need it, nutrition education and disaster readiness for all.”
Planned modifications include construction of freezer and cooler space – which will multiply the Foodbank’s current south county cold food storage space by ten times – along with a new Nutrition Promotion Center and Volunteer Center, and the Foodbank’s administrative offices.
During the end-of-year public campaign, the Foodbank additionally raised $4 million to support general operations to ensure that community members in need have access to nutritious food into the current calendar year, along with nutrition educations programs and ongoing disaster readiness initiatives, such as Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trainings.
The culmination of a decade-long search for a comprehensive south county warehouse and administrative facility, the Sharehouse is located at 80 Coromar Drive in Goleta, just off Hollister between Storke and Los Carneros Roads. The Sharehouse name indicates it will serve as more than just a warehouse; it will be a comprehensive center where the community can “share food, education and hope.”
The Foodbank is grateful for leadership gifts received from the following organizations and individuals: La Centra-Sumerlin Foundation; Riley and Susan Bechtel Foundation; Balay Ko Foundation, California Department of Social Services; and the Patricia and Paul Bragg Foundation.
Generous contributions from the following individuals and organizations further made the Sharehouse dream possible: Ashish Bhutani and Leslie Sweem Bhutani; Sheila and Tom Cullen; Kate Edwardson; G.A. Fowler Family Foundation; Godric Foundation; Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation; Jim and Pamela Houck; Hutton Parker Foundation; Ann Jackson Family Foundation; Donald E. and Sharon Lafler; Mericos Foundation; Hank and Mari Mitchel; John C. Mithun Foundation; Montecito Bank & Trust; Natalie Orfalea Foundation; Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation, Chuck and Missy Sheldon; Florence and Laurence Spungen Family Foundation; Walter J. and Holly O. Thomson Foundation; Williams-Corbett Foundation; the Edwin and Jeanne Woods Family Foundation; and the Zegar Family Foundation.
About Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County transforms hunger into health through good nutrition and food literacy. The Foodbank provides nourishment and education through a network of more than 200 partner agencies, nutrition education programs and food distributions
operated by the Foodbank and its volunteers. The Foodbank’s Covid crisis response has included distributing more than 35 million pounds of food, making more than 80,000 home deliveries of healthy groceries to seniors, and launching new services in high-poverty areas, such as its Healthy Farmworkers program. For more information, visit FoodbankSBC.org
