Santa Ynez Chumash Tribe donates $150,000 to the Santa Barbara County Foodbank to expand services in Goleta

SANTA YNEZ, Calif.– The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians donated $150,000 to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County to expand their services in Goleta during a volunteer event Tuesday.

The Chumash Fire Department and Chumash volunteers packaged 650 meals at the foodbank's Santa Maria warehouse for community members in need before presenting the donation.

Santa Barbra County Foodbank says it will use the donation to acquire additional warehouse space, necessary refrigeration, and update the Goleta facility.

The new facility of the foodbank will feature a Nutrition Promotion Center to promote food literacy in the community while continuing to provide food to the community.

Projected to open in summer 2023 the 57,00 square foot space will increase weekly capacity for donations and other goods while eliminating extra travel to north county for extra storage space.

“We are so pleased to receive funds from the Chumash Foundation that will allow us to purchase and retrofit our new Sharehouse facility,” said Dan Thomas, Capital Campaign Director for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. “The Sharehouse will help us more efficiently provide food to hungry people in Santa Barbara County, and it will protect the whole community from facing the uncertainty of hunger in the event of a widespread disaster.”

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