Food insecurity leads to mental health challenges in Santa Barbara County
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— As the saying goes, “You are what you eat,” but can what you eat affect your mental health?
The cost of living in Santa Barbara County continues to increase, from rent to food.
Nearly 45,000 people in the county are food insecure. That’s 10% of the Santa Barbara County population.
Alanie Rossell, who now works at the Santa Barbara County Food Bank, says she would often skip meals back when she was a student at UCSB.
“I had to ration my food because otherwise I wouldn't have enough for a specific bill I had to pay. So it's hard to balance all those things, especially with the cost of everything going up,” said Santa Barbara County Foodbank Social Media Coordinator Alanie Rossell.
This negatively impacted Rossell, both physically and psychologically.
“When you're trying to focus on just living your life, whether it's school going to work or all the different things that we humans have as responsibilities, when your one basic need is unfulfilled, like food, it kind of shakes the rest of everything in your life around,” said Rossell.
Rossell is not alone. UCSB Food Security And Basic Needs Spokesperson Katie Maynard says currently, 43% of UCSB undergraduate students experience food insecurity.
Maynard describes the relationship between food insecurity and mental health as a negative feedback loop.
“We find that if a student is food or housing insecure, that can add a lot of anxiety for the student and stress in being able to meet their basic needs. We also find that students that are going through mental health crises can also end up having difficulty meeting their food and housing needs,” said Maynard.
The UCSB Food Security And Basic Needs task force have implemented a series of measures to address this critical need. this includes a robust Cal Fresh program that gives students in need up to $281 a month and access to grocery store benefits.
Maynard has noticed that the culture of shame that used to surround using food stamps or accessing basic needs benefits has dissipated over the years.
"More and more students are going to their peers and saying, Oh, I use the food pantry, I use Cal Fresh. Aren’t you using it, too?” said Maynard.
“It’s really strong to say, I need help right now and I'm making the best decision for myself and my family,” said Santa Barbara County Foodbank Grants and Development Specialist Hannah Webster.
Several Santa Barbara based organizations are working towards ending hunger in the county including the Santa Barbara County Foodbank, The Terrace Foundation, UCSB Basic Needs, and The Santa Barbara Foundation.
