After earning her Ph.D. in nutritional biology from UC Davis and completing a few years of research—including some time in West Africa—Lacey Baldiviez knew she wanted to return to Santa Barbara County to share her expertise with the community.
Baldiviez worked as the executive director of Fairview Gardens Center for Urban Agriculture in Goleta before joining the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County in January 2019 where she works as the director of community programs and education.
Shortly after starting her new gig, she began working on an event series called Food as Medicine as a way for experts in the county to talk about food nutrition.
“There’s a lot of nutrition expertise in our county,” Baldiviez said. “It’s just a matter of pulling it together and putting it in a format that people can access it.”
As for the title of the event, Baldiviez said it’s based on the idea that “we can heal ourselves through food and care for ourselves through nutrition.”
After holding the first in-person discussion, Baldiviez said she wanted to find a way to share the information with people who couldn’t attend, so she began a podcast that consists of episodes based on the Food as Medicine event series.
So far, she’s recorded four episodes ranging from 13 to 19 minutes in length, with the help of interns from UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Communication. Baldiviez said initially the episodes were available directly on the Foodbank’s website, but the program is now accessible on various platforms including Google Podcasts and Spotify. Since making this change about two months ago, people have played the episodes more than 200 times, she said.
The first episode, titled “The Power of Cruciferous Veggies,” centers on sulforaphane, which is a compound found in vegetables such as broccoli and cabbages and is associated with various health benefits. The next two episodes cover the digestive process, and the fourth episode is all about fiber.
Baldiviez said she’s planning future episodes about protein and alternative sources for people looking to cut back on meat, as well as a discussion about healthy fats.
Through these and future discussions, Baldiviez said she hopes to provide people with the knowledge to make better and healthier decisions every day for themselves and their families.
“It’s not a matter of being healthy every time; it’s a matter of making one decision at a time,” Baldiviez said. “It’s a long-term change. It’s a lifestyle change.”
Highlights
• Tickets are now on sale for the 38th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival, which will take place on May 2 at Rancho Sisquoc Winery. The festival will feature food, wine, live music, local art, and a silent auction. Check out sbvintnersweekend.com for more information.
• Seven members from Ernest Righetti High School’s Future Business Leaders of America Chapter developed the skills necessary to be recognized at the Gold Coast Section Conference in South Pasadena. Three students qualified for the State Leadership Conference. Lance Barredo, Steven Villanueva, and Neev Vincchi placed in the top six students, so they’re heading to Ontario, California, on April 6.
Staff Writer Zac Ezzone wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send tips to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 5-12, 2020.