From 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, Vitamin Angels representatives, in an ongoing partnership with the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, will participate in their monthly Healthy School Pantry food distribution.
The event will be hosted at the Goleta Valley Community Center, 5679 Hollister Ave. in Goleta.
“Vitamin Angels is not only pleased to be giving the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County a supply of multivitamins for children and pregnant and nursing moms, but we love that we get to visit food pantries that distribute these multivitamins and meet the families that are being served by this partnership,” said Amy Steets, senior program manager.
Children under 5 years old, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are eligible to receive a six-month supply of vitamins from Vitamin Angels free of charge.
“As a Santa Barbara native, it is a delight for me to work for a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization that can provide support to children and families in our own backyard,” Steets said.
Through the partnership, Vitamin Angels has supplied the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County with more than 150,000 doses of children’s multivitamins and nearly 35,000 doses of women’s prenatal vitamins.
This distribution is part of Vitamin Angels’ ongoing efforts in the United States to address childhood hidden hunger, undernourishment caused by the lack of access to food with the vitamins and minerals needed for proper physical and cognitive development. In 2012, Vitamin Angels partnered with 38 food banks and free clinics across the United States, distributing over 25 million doses of children’s multivitamins and women’s prenatal vitamins, reaching close to 70,000 beneficiaries.
— Natalie Hernandez represents Vitamin Angels.
