Morton Capital Management announced Monday, Sept. 1, the third of six honorees in its year-long Women Making Waves campaign, an effort to honor Santa Barbara women who are making a dramatic social impact locally and abroad.
Morton Capital acknowledges Sherry Villanueva in the September edition of Santa Barbara Life & Style Magazine for her innovative approach to creating community around food: the meals we share and the collective opportunity to help those in need transition “From Hunger to Health.”
The mastermind behind Santa Barbara restaurant and reigning hot spot, The Lark, Sherry Villanueva’s work is widely credited with creating a viable and vibrant community in a once declining Santa Barbara industrial area known as the “Funk Zone.”
The area, so named when it was home to fish processing plants, is now a medley of tourists and locals, mixed-use structures, and an “Urban Wine Trail,” with The Lark and adjacent sister hotspots Lucky Penny, Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant, Santa Barbara Wine Collective and Helena Avenue Bakery serving as the de facto hub from which the energy of the neighborhood emanates.
The rebirth of the Funk Zone might have surprised some, but not Villanueva, who believes that a well-intended concept that is fully visualized, articulated and well-executed can indeed work miracles — and not just in the business world.
“Borrowing principles of ideation in the commercial sector and applying them to the nonprofit sector, even such social issues as hunger might be solved and an even greater opportunity created,” she says.
According to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, with which Villanueva and her business has partnered, one in four people in Santa Barbara County rely on food support from organizations such as the Foodbank and partner entities; 44 percent of the individuals served are children.
In a region where food is literally falling from city and neighborhood trees, wasting away on sidewalks and in yards, the hunger problem in Santa Barbara is difficult to swallow.
“For families unfamiliar with the taste and preparation of vegetables such as kale, swiss chard or other nontraditional greens, the decision to choose less healthy, more convenient and far less expensive options takes precedence,” says Villanueva. “Through the Foodbank’s ‘From Hunger to Health’ initiative, Santa Barbara has the opportunity to realize a time in which all of the necessary factors influencing access to — and demand for — nutritious food sources can work together synergistically, bringing better nutrition to those in our community who need it most.”
“From Hunger to Health” seeks to create and sustain healthy communities through nourishment, literacy and empowerment. Operating at a hyper-local level, the entire community is encouraged to contribute by donating food and excess produce from their properties; by participating in literacy programs about health, nutrition and food preparation; and by helping to create and maintain community gardens and kitchens.
At cultivation events, Villanueva demonstrates the power of the model by creating gourmet meals for prospective donors at her restaurant using only ingredients found on the shelves at the Foodbank: “When donors are able to experience the high quality, nutritious food available through the Foodbank’s community partners, they are eager to help.”
For more information about the Foodbank or to get involved, go to www.foodbanksbc.org.
— Caroline Harrah is a wealth advisor at Morton Capital Management.