The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is bolstered by $1.5-million in federal funds for new Sharehouse warehouse building
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The new site for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County's Sharehouse is gaining more financial support as components to the project are coming together.
The site at 80 Coromar Drive in Goleta was formerly a computer refurbishing company. It is now in the process of a conversion.
It will have additional storage for food products and ten times the refrigeration capacity as the current and outdated Foodbank location.
Rep. Salud Carbajal (D) California, has delivered $1.5-million in federal funds to the Foodbank for the work ahead to install all that is needed to have the Sharehouse ready by October.
The federal funds were part of the Foodbank's goal of $20-million to purchase and renovate the Sharehouse.
The much larger site will have 80,000 pounds of food and it will be capable of serving the area on a daily basis and during a disaster when roads for food delivery could be cut off.
Congressman Carbajal and Foodbank of Santa Barbara County CEO Erik Talkin toured the Sharehouse to see how the money will be spent and who will benefit.
The site also includes the educational Nutrition Promotion Center and administrative offices.
The Sharehouse is 57,000 square feet. It will be able to hold an additional 30,000 pounds a week in food that is available now but turned away from regional distribution sources.
Carbajal said during a visit, "without the type of storage that this facility provides, not only just food insecure families but other families, in that instance that they don't have access to food, will have access to food."
Talkin said, "there's a gap there. We are never able to provide the full need but 80 thousand pounds will enable to provide food for at least three or four new pantries on top of what we are doing now. "
Talkin said the new refrigeration is going to be substantial compared to the small facility they have now. "Our new place here will be ten times the size of that. It is going to make a huge difference. There we had to bring produce out into the hot sun and stage it and move things around here will be able to bring it in to a temperature controlled environment and that is going to mean. more fresh food for everyone in Santa Barbara County."
The loading dock at the new facility is larger than the current facility which can only handle one 18-wheeler. The new site has room for three of them side by side.
The Sharehouse site will also have an educational room to build food literacy, demonstrate cooking with a portable cooking mini kitchen that can have eight people around it, and possibly take it to outreach locations for demonstrations.
Talkin said, "we will be able to teach food literacy and how to cook to so many more kids around the county."
The goal is to stay healthy with food and to learn better ways to use food from the food bank distribution sites, not just receive an allocation in a box and leave.
Talkin said, "we have a new slogan. It is sharing food, sharing education and sharing hope and those things together are really going to build a strong base."
.
For more from John, follow him on Twitter below:
Follow @JohnPalminteri
