The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will open a new facility this fall that’s more than six times the size of its current South County warehouse.
The Foodbank’s “sharehouse” at 80 Coromar Drive in Goleta, off Hollister Avenue between Storke and Los Carneros roads, is expected to be operational in the fall, according to a press release.
“I’ve been with the Foodbank for about nine years, and since I started, we have known that we needed a larger facility in the Goleta area and to cover South County,” Foodbank Associate Director Laurel Alcantar said.
Alcantar said the increase of need during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as recent natural disasters encouraged the community to understand the need for a larger facility in the South County.
The current facility has 9,000 square feet of indoor storage and a 16,000-square-foot outdoor staging area. The new facility will be 57,000 square feet, Alcantar said.
The size of the current facility in Santa Barbara’s South County was able to hold only 15% of what is required to serve the area.
“We’re actually turning down food every week from Los Angeles County and sometimes from other counties, because our South County site just doesn’t have the storage capacity right now,” Alcantar said.
Alcantar said that with the new sharehouse, the Foodbank will be able to accept at least 20,000 pounds in additional donations every week.
Currently, food that could not be stored in the South County facility is kept in the North County Foodbank and trucks are sent back and forth several times a week throughout the county in order to replenish the South County’s facility. The new facility will cut down on time, gas, staffing, and the general wear and tear required to make that commute, Alcantar said.
Alcantar said the need for a larger facility will be especially beneficial during disasters, as was highlighted during the recent storms.
“Disaster preparedness is going to be huge because we saw even with this last round of storms at the beginning of the month that the 101 was completely cut off,” Alcantar said. “If South County has to operate in an environment where they’re cut off, we want to make sure that our facility has adequate disaster resources on hand.”
Modifications for the new facility include a freezer space that will increase the Foodbank’s current South County cold food storage space by 10 times, according to a press release.
The Foodbank raised $20 million in 18 months ending Dec. 31, coming from a combination of public and private funding.