Foodbank of Santa Barbara County prepares for cuts to Government Food Programs

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Crews are working nonstop at the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Sharehouse.

"Busy with just trying to understand these uncertainties with federal cuts," said chief development and strategy officer Nathalie Keller of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

The foodbank is seeing the highest food insecurity rates in nearly a decade.

Now, the US Department of Agriculture has halted $500 million dollars in deliveries to foodbanks nationwide.

“Santa Barbara as a community can’t build a resilient community unless we have enough food for everyone in the community cutting this type of food and the assistance is not a good step," said CEO Erik Talkin of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

Directors of the foodbank believe these proposed federal changes puts thousands of local families, seniors, and children at greater risk across Santa Barbara County.

“Poverty rates are increasingly higher and higher … and so when we receive word about these cuts, we just realized we gotta keep moving forward," said Keller.

“We had an amazing using program called the LFPA which allowed us to use federal funds and channel them towards local small farmers and that program has been totally cut from the end of June onward," said Talkin.

In light of the funding cuts, the foodbank hopes the community will step up in their support.

"And making sure that everyone has got enough healthy food ... food that we're able to source locally and support everyone here in Santa Barbara County," said Talkin.

“We’ve been through fires government shut downs, and this is just another chance for the food bank to show how resilient we really are," said Keller.

The foodbank team estimates these cuts represent a food loss of about $1.5 million dollars for the Foodbank.The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County shares the potential impact on its services after the USDA announced major budget cuts.

From the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County:

Santa Barbara, Calif. (March 24, 2025) – Amid the highest food insecurity rates in nearly a decade, proposed federal changes threaten to deepen hunger across Santa Barbara County, putting thousands of local families, seniors, and children at greater risk. The proposed cuts to USDA and state-funded programs signal a severe threat to the region’s food security.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which moves nutritious food from farms to food banks, has put approximately 330 loads of federal food commodities on hold in California—resulting in the delay and potentially significant loss of food for FBSBC. The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA), which enabled FBSBC to source fresh, local produce, has been effectively canceled with the termination of LFPA 25, ending essential support for small local farmers. Additionally, proposed budget changes to CalFood, a state-funded program that provides dollars to food banks to purchase California-grown foods, threaten to reduce its vital investment in California food and agriculture businesses. Altogether, these cuts and cancellations represent a food loss currently estimated at approximately $1.5 million for the Foodbank.

“We want all our neighbors in Santa Barbara County to know that the Foodbank has always been there for them in times of need, and that will continue to be the case despite our current challenges with obtaining enough food support from the Federal government,” said Foodbank CEO Erik Talkin. “That is because we operate as the will of this community to ensure that every family, every older adult, has enough nutritious food to keep us strong.”

USDA foods typically make up 30% of the food distributed by the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, which already serves 1 in 3 of our neighbors. Drastic cuts to government-funded food programs and reductions across the social service sector will increase hunger and food insecurity, leaving many families unable to meet basic needs—especially in a County that has the second-highest poverty rate of any California County.

Despite these challenges, the Foodbank remains steadfast in supporting our community, just as during the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago. We are closely monitoring ongoing changes to funding and legislation and working proactively to meet community needs.

We can no longer rely on the Federal government to help us meet community food, it falls on the Foodbank and our partner agencies. While challenging, this transition presents an opportunity for our communities to band together and create more local and sustainable programs that will have a lasting positive impact on Santa Barbara County. The Foodbank will need increased support from our community as we face these unprecedented changes. Monetary donations will support the incredibly cost-efficient food purchasing and sourcing power of the Foodbank. Our partnerships with local and state networks mean that our buying power can have five times the impact. We urge our neighbors to donate any amount and visit us at foodbanksbc.org to learn how they can help.