Santa Barbara County Foodbank Opens Sharehouse Facility to Combat Food Insecurity

GOLETA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Foodbank’s Sharehouse in Goleta held its grand opening Saturday with Sharehouse Community Day.

"We are so excited. Today is the celebration of the full operational capacity of our new warehouse and Sharehouse facility in South County. It's been a long time coming," said Laurel Alcantar, director of marketing at the Santa Barbara County Foodbank.

The Sharehouse facility marks a new chapter in the fight against food insecurity in Santa Barbara County. It will also be able to store up to 1 million pounds of disaster-ready food.

"It's three times bigger than what we originally had here in Santa Barbara, and we're just so excited to open it up to the community, see what we do and see how it's going to impact our neighbors," said Greg Mora, director of development at the Santa Barbara County Foodbank.

With an existing facility in Santa Maria, the new Sharehouse in South County will provide greater access and resources to the community.

"This facility is going to drastically increase our organizational capacity countywide, so it's going to enable us to really serve the community better in times of disaster," Alcantar said.

"We all remember during the mudslides and fires when Highway 101 was closed. It wasn't possible for the food bank to ship food down from North County to Santa Barbara, where it was needed. Now, this space is going to equip us to be prepared for situations like that," Mora said.

The event featured raffles, ice cream and family-friendly activities as attendees celebrated Sharehouse Community Day.

"We encourage everyone in the community to come out, sign up for a tour, volunteer or donate. There are so many ways to help the Santa Barbara County Foodbank and our community," Alcantar said.

For those wanting to learn more or get involved, visit the Santa Barbara County Foodbank’s website.