The Covid19 pandemic has dramatically impacted our local foodshed, prompting our community – and communities around the world – to shift our daily patterns, including how we shop and eat. The disruption has been particularly visible in the empty grocery store shelves and shuttered restaurant windows. Here’s what we know: a local, diversified and equitable food system can be one of our best defenses in moments of community crisis.
COVID-19 Response
Study documents COVID-19 impacts on farmworkers
The Santa Maria Times details a recent study about the impact of the pandemic on California farmworkers for their "What You Need To Know" Series. The study, undertaken on short notice…
SBC Food Rescue: Business Outreach
Beginning January 1, 2019, AB 1826 requires businesses that generate four or more cubic yards of solid waste per week to establish an organic waste recycling program.SB 1383 establishes guidelines…
Housing for the Harvest: Free Hotel Room for Farm and Food Processing Workers
Housing for Harvest is a new program that offers temporary hotel housing for farm and food processing workers who need to isolate due to COVID-19. Self isolation in…
Food Forest Landscaping
An article from Santa Barbara Independent, written by Brad Smith, considers how healthy lives can be achieved through food security, social justice, and climate adaptation. The article sheds light on…
How Black Communities Are Bridging the Food Access Gap
Addressing systemic racism in U.S. agriculture has to begin with the USDA.
Black Lives Matter in the Food System
During the first half of 2020, the disproportionate spread of COVID-19 in communities of color and the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police have drawn into…
Battered Food-Service Industry in Santa Barbara in Battle to Survive COVID-19 Pandemic
Brooke Holland of Noozhawk writes about the difficulties the local Food-Service industry has had to face due to the pandemic. Local business owners of bars, restaurants, and breweries share details…
The pandemic has hit restaurants hard, but experts say the ‘ghost food hall’ concept might save them
An article written by Marisa Iati explores how the 'ghost hall' concept might be the answer. The concept allows for multiple restaurants/chefs to operate in one huge kitchen to deliver…
An Open Letter from BIPOC Leaders in Food & Agriculture to Food Systems Funders
An open letter was written to Food System Funders to move towards regenerative practices and to meet the moment for change. This letter was written by amazing BIPOC leaders in…
Direct Assistance to Farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) offers direct assistance to farmers and ranchers in support for losses related to the pandemic. The USDA, through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), will…
Supporting Farmers and Food Systems during Covid19
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
USDA Announces Details of Direct Assistance to Farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Farmers and Ranchers to Receive Direct Support for Losses Related to COVID-19
Farms that are delivering to your door during Covid-19
Making a Match
Santa Barbara County Food Rescue, a program of the Community Environmental Council, includes multiple collaborations to support countywide efforts to feed those in need during the COVID-19 crisis.The program matches…
Other News
Santa Barbara County Food Action Network Announces “Stay Home (and Eat Local) for the Holidays” Campaign
November 20, 2020, SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) has connected Santa Barbara County farmers markets, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and Edible…
Op-ed: How Patents Threaten Small Seed Companies
Cuyama Lamb – Reservations available now
From grazing fire breaks in the Santa Ynez Mountains to protecting the endangered native grasslands of San Marcos Foothills, our lamb is 100% range-raised. You can feel good and eat…
Want to Fight Rising Food Insecurity? Listen to People Who’ve Been Hungry.
As families face sudden, chronic food shortages, three researchers share lessons from hundreds of interviews with the food insecure.
Interview: Kids Around the World Photographed Surrounded by Their Weekly Diet
The article, written by Jessica Stewart, shares the work of photographer Gregg Segal as he set out to discover the diets of children around the world. Stewart writes "Segal's photographs…
Want to See Food and Land Justice for Black Americans? Support These Groups.
Food justice is racial justice. As the nation rises up to protest atrocities against Black people, here are some organizations working to advance Black food sovereignty.
Reckoning with Racial Justice in Farm Country
Rural communities and agriculture groups are divided over George Floyd's death and the resulting protests. As some stay silent, others express solidarity or hold rallies in support.
Op-ed: We Can Build a Better Food System Through Mutual Aid
Imagine if food producers and movements worked together to secure the basic needs of those fighting for a better world for everyone.
Op-ed: How Urban Agriculture Can Fight Racism in the Food System
Growing food in cities offers a powerful way to reclaim communities and change the dynamics so that people of color have wealth and power.
Julián Castro on the Goya Boycott and How to Support Communities of Color
The former presidential candidate links COVID-19’s devastation in Black and brown communities with the need for a $15 minimum wage, free school meals, and universal healthcare.
Civil Eats: Food Companies Step Up Funding for Organic Farming Research
Article written by Meg Wilcox explores the ways food companies are stepping up to fund organic farming research. Companies including Clif Bar, King Arthur Flour, and others are funding universities…
Meat Giants May Face Billions in Long-Term Carbon Taxes
Interesting Read! The article, written Agnieszka de Sousa , shares how meat giants may face carbon taxes and what the pandemic has revealed for the meat industry. Click Link…
California Awarded More Than $3.8 Million To Support The Specialty Crop Industry Through Multi-State Initiatives
The Rebirth of the Food Sovereignty Movement
Review: Nels Fredrickson’s ‘Itza’s Garden’
DDT’s toxic legacy could span three generations
Increasing Support For Our Local Food System with the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network
Did sea farm debacle sink California aquaculture?
Santa Barbara County Food Action Network Announces Shakira Miracle as First Executive Director
May 5, 2020, SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) is proud to announce the selection of its first Executive Director, Shakira Miracle. Her hiring…
California Healthy Soils Program Helping Farmers
Central Coast farmers’ markets provide affordable produce for Cal Fresh participants
Lane Farms in Goleta offers customers open-air shopping environment
Foodbank Preparing for Possible Local Impacts of COVID-19 Outbreak: Focus on Nutrition for Families and Seniors
Foodbank Preparing for Possible Local Impacts of COVID-19 Outbreak: Focus on Nutrition for Families and Seniors Countywide Disaster Feeding Plan will guide emergency food distribution planning and implementation March 12,…
Cuyama Valley Carrot Growers Get the Stick
Now more than ever, we should be supporting SLO county’s small organic farms
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Pilots High School “Food Creativity Lab” as Part of Expanding Education Programs
Integral to ending hunger, the Foodbank’s children’s nutrition education aims to improve health habits for kids experiencing food insecurity (Santa Barbara, CA) – The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is…
EconAlliance Forum Puts Spotlight on ‘Growing Possibilities’ of Agriculture in Santa Barbara County
Food as Medicine: The Digestion Connection
The Digestion Connection: How Digestion Impacts States of Health and Disease Wednesday, February 19 6-8pm Santa Barbara Public Library Faulkner Gallery 40 E Anapamu Street Join nutrition advocates Vibeke Welland…
The SBCC Promise’s Culinary Class
The SBCC Promise Program provides the region’s high school graduates with the opportunity to attend for two years, free of charge.
Third Annual Session – Building Our Resilient Food System: Using the Food Action Plan to Create a County-Wide Network
#rethinkfood #foodaction #foodjustice #foodsystem #leaf Help us continue to shape a sustainable food future for Santa Barbara County! Join us for the third annual free community listening and activation session…
Edible Campus Program’s Student Farm Opening
On October 8th, UCSB’s Edible Campus Program celebrated the opening of the ECP Student Farm. Students, supporters, and community members came together to celebrate the success of this new farm.…
Community Environmental Council Receives Food Rescue Grant and Partners with SBCC and Allan Hancock College to Feed Hungry Students
Film Screening: The Biggest Little Farm
A testament to the immense complexity of nature, The Biggest Little Farm follows two dreamers and a dog on an odyssey to bring harmony to both their lives and the…
Good Food for Good
Food Insecurity in Higher Education Public Forum
Join the Santa Barbara County community in addressing the food insecurity crisis happening at our own local colleges. Many students face some degree of food insecurity, leading us to question…
Power to the soil!
CEC's Food Program, in partnership with the King & King Ranch, the Ventura Resource Conservation District and the UC Cooperative Extension, are putting together a Healthy Soils demonstration project in…
A Full Plate
Dr Sara Goldrick-Rab: Addressing Students’ Basic Needs
Join us for an evening with scholar-activist Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab while she discusses the new economics of colleges and how they have created a crisis of basic needs insecurity on…
Thank you for helping us build the Food Action Plan Network!
Carbon Farming Initiative Takes Tentative First Steps in Santa Ynez Valley
Article first appeared on Noozhawk On a recent morning in the Santa Ynez Valley, a crowd of people gathered at the Ted Chamberlin Ranch to discuss soil health and so-called…
Second Annual Event – Building Our Resilient Food System: Cultivating Connections
#rethinkfood #foodaction #foodjustice #foodsystem #leaf Help us continue to shape a sustainable food future for Santa Barbara County! Join us on Tuesday, November 13, 2018 from 6 p.m. to 8…
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Annual Report 2018
Thanks for taking the time to read this report! This has been an incredible year of progress for the Foodbank. We had no idea that we would be tested so…
Food First – Fall 2018 Newsletter
Full Hearts and Bellies: An SBC Food Rescue Story #rethinkfood
Santa Barbara School District First In US To Axe Processed Meat
The Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) is the first known school district in the US to remove processed meats from its lunch menus. The change - which became official…
Farming for Life to use veggies as low-cost diabetes treatment
Santa Barbara County doctors are testing out a new prescription medication to treat residents struggling with type 2 diabetes: veggies. Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, a Santa Barbara-based diabetes research and…
Rising carbon emissions make crops less nutritious, threaten global health
Read the full text on The Hill. Around the world, food security is being threatened by man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Some of the threats to our food system are…
Excess Food, Which Normally Gets Thrown Out, Helps To Feed Hungry In Santa Barbara County
Food that would normally be thrown out is now feeding the hungry in Santa Barbara County. Restaurants, supermarkets and caterers routinely dump their excess prepared food. But instead of filling…
Food Rescue Network Links Those With Excess Food to Those in Need
The Community Environmental Council (CEC) has launched Santa Barbara County Food Rescue, a collaborative food recovery network that builds relationships in the county between donors who have excess food and…
Lompoc residents, Foodbank reps celebrate 1-year anniversary of food access center
With a festive atmosphere that was befitting a birthday party, Lompoc community members and civic leaders joined with officials from the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County on Wednesday to celebrate…
Scaling Up Carbon Farming on Central Coast Rangelands
The Community Environmental Council (CEC), Cachuma Resource Conservation District, and Ted Chamberlin Ranch have been awarded a major statewide grant to scale-up and expand a regenerative agriculture research pilot underway…
California is turning farms into carbon-sucking factories
Santa Barbara County Food Rescue
Community Environmental Council is coordinating SBC Food Rescue, a collaborative food recovery network for Santa Barbara County with support from private, public, and nonprofit sectors. SBC Food Rescue builds relationships…
The Amazing Ability of Pasture Grass to Sequester Carbon
"What really got people excited about this simple layer of compost is that it sequesters carbon now. We don’t have to wait for Elon Musk to geo-engineer something from space.”…
Soup’s On at Empty Bowls Fundraiser
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will host the 14th Annual Lompoc Empty Bowls fundraiser, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, at Dick DeWees Senior & Community Center, 1120 W.…
Veggie Rescue Teams Up with Chumash Casino to Redirect Excess Food to People in Need
As national and global agencies spotlight food waste, a Santa Barbara County nonprofit organization has been working behind the scenes since November to relocate leftover food from buffet lines to…
Young Farmers to Help Diabetes Patients
Fairview Gardens and William Sansum Diabetes Center Merge Budding Programs If young farmers and diabetes don’t seem like a natural pairing, just ask Lacey Baldiviez and Ben York. Baldiviez, the…
Thinking Big
Yellow cloth streamers blowing sideways in the breeze signal that you've arrived at the Blue Sky Center in New Cuyama. But just in case there's any doubt, the name is…
Placemaking in Cuyama Valley
Cuyama. In Chumash it means to rest, to wait. The two-lane highway of Route 166 is a hidden gem, often traveled during wildflower season in late March. The gorgeous route…
Free Screening of Wasted! The Story of Food Waste
Join us to #rethinkfood with a FREE screening of WASTED: The Story of Food Waste by Anthony Bourdain. Hear how you can plug into efforts to reduce and redistribute food waste with CEC and…
Building Our Resilient Food System: Cultivating Connections
On October 25, 2017 businesses, nonprofits, and individual community members gathered to share powerful ways they are working to #rethinkfood in Santa Barbara County. The meeting provided an opportunity to share…
SBC Food Action Plan Successes in 2017
In May 2016, CEC and its partners (the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, the Orfalea Foundation, and the Santa Barbara Foundation) published the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan, a community-driven…
Community Invited to Take Action on Food System #rethinkfood
See original press release here. The Community Environmental Council (CEC), Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, and the Santa Barbara Foundation will hold Building Our Resilient Food System: Cultivating Connections, a…
Sky’s the limit: The Blue Sky Center works to empower the residents of rural Cuyama Valley with creativity and community
Things don’t move too fast in rural communities like New Cuyama, and they especially slow down when the midday sun bears down and the heat hits the high 90s. That…
Santa Barbara County Food Waste Recovery Round Table
Multiple agencies are working together in Santa Barbara County to prevent food waste. CEC held its second Food Waste Roundtable to address the complexities of a system in which tons…
Foodbank opens new Lompoc community center
Representatives from the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County joined with Lompoc community members Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the opening of the Foodbank’s first Community Food Access Center. The new center,…
Students Research West Side Food Quality
Three Westmont students have presented their research about the availability and quality of food in the West Side of Santa Barbara to more than two dozen community members of the…
