Foodbank of Santa Barbara County takes part in nationwide campaign to end hunger

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.—When you have too much on your plate, sometimes you can’t get enough on your plate, and that can have some serious long term impacts. 
 
“If you're hungry, it could affect your overall health, whether that's like your focus, whether it's getting enough sleep,” said Ivette Fuentes from the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. 

Hunger Action Month sheds light on food insecurity in Santa Barbara County and prompts the community to take tangible steps to address this growing problem, including volunteering at and donating to food banks.
 
The most recent data from Feeding America shows nearly 12 percent of people in Santa Barbara County are food insecure - that's about 52 thousand people.
 
Those numbers are up from before the pandemic.
 
Inflation isn’t making it any easier. 
  
“The price in groceries continues to rise. Gas. So there's a lot of expenses where it feels like a lot of people aren't getting like a breather. So that's why if we can reduce or take off one load, one mental load from people's plates, then it would make us super happy. And we want to see our community thrive,” said Alanie Rossell from the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
 
Rossell struggled with food insecurity as a college student and wants people to know there is no shame in asking for help. 
 
She says the Foodbank is free for anyone who needs it. 
 
“I did not know about the food bank, but if I did, I know that mental stress and not being like, Oh, I actually don't have to eat half of my dinner so that I have lunch for tomorrow. I can eat the whole thing and know that I have food for tomorrow. Would have made me feel less stress and like a sense of ease.” 
 
This month the Santa Barbara Foundation will match all community donations up to $30,000. 
 
You can find the Hunger Action Month calendar with more tips on how to help end hunger on our mobile app and website.