Santa Barbara County is helping feed families with kids 18 and younger with free summer meals
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — More than 500 families got summer meals for their kids Wednesday in Goleta. It was part of the No Kid Hungry Free Summer Meal Concert Series. School districts and non-profits across Santa Barbara County teamed up to provide the meals.
Cynthia Estrella has kids in the Goleta Union School District (GUSD). She drove through the food distribution. As she pulled through she told the volunteers, "Oh perfect. That's great. Thank you so much."
Parents lined up at the Goleta Union School District offices Wednesday to receive free meals for their children and family members.
Blair Naretto also has a kid in the school district. She said, "[The food] will help be able to feed our family some good stuff. Especially during this crazy time that we're in."
The Goleta distribution site is one of 45 locations in Santa Barbara County feeding families with kids 18 and younger. Organizers of the No Kid Hungry Free Summer Meal Concert Series said 1 in 5 kids are food insecure. And Santa Barbara County has the 3rd highest rate for poverty in California. These free meals will help students who normally rely on food from school.
"With them being at home with limited camp options and outside resources," said Estrella, "it'll be nice to have them have food and be fed."
For Naretto, the drive-thru style is easier than going to the grocery store with her son.
"My son is high-risk," said Naretto. "He has heart disease. So I don't take him obviously in the store, so just to be able to get something easy drive-thru, safe and of course free helps our family a lot."
While many of the locations across the county operate 3 or 5 days a week, the Goleta distribution site is only open once a week. But everyone is welcome, even parents outside of the district.
Kim Leung is GUSD's food services director, "Anyone with kids who are both working and it's really hard right now to even get to the grocery store or anyone where they just need extra support. Just come on by."
To find a food distribution site near you text "Summerfood" to 877-877. To signup for the Goleta food distribution location so they have enough for everyone signup on their Instagram GUSDFood.
