Eighth-grader Jacob Mansbach and his brother Joseph, age 11, competed in the Sept. 24 Carpinteria Triathlon to raise money to get nutritious food to local kids through the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s children’s health initiatives.
Jacob founded Team Join Jacob six years ago, and leads youth athletes in training and learning about food insecurity every summer. He then competes in both the Santa Barbara and Carpinteria triathlons.
“I’m raising money for local kids in our community because many of them don’t get the nutrition they need every day,” Jacob said.
“Think about it, if you didn’t know where your next meal would come from, if you didn’t know if you were going to have dinner at night, that’s why I like to give back,” Jacob said as he was getting pumped for the race.
This year, Jacob and Joseph completed both the long- and sprint events in the Santa Barbara Triathlon.
Jacob’s team goal is to raise $10,000 by Sept. 30 to donate to the Foodbank to help end hunger for local children. The boys are only $300 shy of their goal.
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara turns every $1 donated into eight healthy meals and serves one in four Santa Barbara County residents every year. Last year, 38 percent of those served by the Foodbank were children.
To donate, visit Foodbanksbc.org. To learn more about Join Jacob, visit http://foodbanksbc.org/join-jacob-2017/.
— Judith Smith-Meyer for Foodbank.