Santa Barbara eateries donate food to survivors of LA fires
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Local baristas are hard at work helping bring comfort to families devastated by LA wildfires.
Handlebar Coffee was packed with customers Friday afternoon.
“There's people in our community that came here because their air quality, their water quality was poor. They're coming here to get out of that. So to see them sitting here and blue skies and fresh air and enjoying the normal things in life, like a cup of coffee, the dog on the lap, it's wonderful,” said Suzanne Grimmesey with the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness.
Rachel Hechanova is overcome with a feeling of heaviness as she recounts her loved ones losing their homes in the fires.
“A lot of people think of L.A. as just like this very fake place and everybody's just in it for themselves. But seeing how much the community has come together, I'm actually really proud to be from L.A. right now,” said Hechanova, who lives in Pasadena.
Hechanova and her husband Mat Soleman are even prouder to call Santa Barbara their second home.
“Santa Barbara has that type of community feel where everybody has each other's back,” said Soleman.
This week, a wave of local restaurants donated free meals to the families taking part in project camp at the Santa Barbara Zoo.
From chain stores like Dominos, Sprouts, and Lazy Acres to mom and pops like D’Angelos everyone is doing their part.
“Our local businesses, I know, have been hit by many things in our community. And yet when I started reaching out with phone calls saying, hey, is there any way you can help? They did whatever they could do,” said Suzanne Grimmesey.
Old Town Coffee, Dean Coffee, and Handlebar Coffee have kept adults trying to get through this rough patch fully caffeinated.
“Dean's coffee shop in Goleta paired up with D'Angelo's for fresh baked bread so that they could make all the sandwiches. Sprouts— Their whole staff was there too, to greet when I came to pick up the food. Just amazing,” said Grimmesey.
The Isla Vista Co-Op location in downtown Santa Barbara is also offering discounts to first responders.
“Whenever things go wrong. We're like, we got to get back to Santa Barbara and just, like, regroup. We'll probably end up coming back here. Maybe we’ll end up here after all,” said Rachel Hechanova, who lives in Pasadena.
