The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) has appointed Ashley Lopez Estrada as its first community liaison.
Lopez brings bilingual customer service and administrative experience to the team, as well as a desire to help make food more accessible in the local region.
While still in college, she distinguished herself with a sociological research project on privilege discrepancy for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students.
As community liaison, Lopez will continue to expand SBCFAN’s work into food and social justice, ensuring each person who seeks a partnership with SBCFAN receives equitable access to all services and resources available.
She will be receiving her bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCSB in June.
The mission of SBCFAN is to ensure everyone has access to, knowledge of, and shares in the responsibility for a resilient food system.
After starting in 2019 and receiving 501(c)(3) status in March 2022, SBCFAN has become key in strengthening the robust diversity that makes up Santa Barbara County’s food system.
SBCFAN supports efforts to advance the goals of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan, a countywide, community-driven strategic plan that assessed and provided recommendations for how we grow, distribute, consume, and dispose of food.
Learn more at SBCFoodAction.org and find SBCFAN on Facebook.com/SBCFoodAction.
For more about the Food Action Plan, visit https://www.sbcfoodaction.org/food-action-plan/.