Thanksgiving brings a few themes to mind: family, turkey, changing leaves, pumpkin pie, stretchy pants, and food comas, to name a few. But for the food insecure in Santa Barbara County, the holiday doesn’t guarantee those things. It could just be another day of hunger.
That’s exactly what the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County aims to eradicate with its Annual Holiday Food Drive, which began on Nov. 1 with Thanksgiving donations and will continue through Dec. 31. This year’s drive marks the largest so far for the Foodbank, with the goal of raising $100,000 and 100,000 pounds of food in the month of November.
The Foodbank aspires to serve 30,000 families in the county and distribute 1.25 million meals during the holiday season. This year’s drive will include a virtual component, as well, where supporters can go online and select to donate certain food items or meals to the Foodbank.
In a news release, Foodbank CEO Erik Talkin said people can still donate food items in person at the Foodbank’s physical facilities, but the virtual food drive would hopefully make the process easier.
“The Foodbank’s need for food and financial support is critical during this peak time of year,” Talkin said in the release. The organization is specifically requesting donations of healthy food items, including frozen turkeys or chickens (of which the Foodbank needs 2,000), rice, canned fruits and vegetables, beans, peanut butter, tuna, oatmeal, cereal, stuffing, and cranberries.
The Foodbank facilities—located at 4554 Hollister Ave. in Santa Barbara and 490 W. Foster Rd. in Santa Maria—are currently accepting donations from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, and from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Nov. 14 to 18. The deadline for turkey donations is Nov. 18.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2016.