Ventura College Foundation’s Weekend Marketplace will temporarily move to a new location on the Ventura College campus while solar panels are installed at its current site (East Parking Lot). The Marketplace will open at the campus’ West Parking Lot on November 28. The Marketplace will be closed November 21 and 22 in preparation for the move. The solar panel installation is expected to take 12 weeks to complete.
An anonymous donor has stepped forward and will match all donations up to $15,000 for every dollar donated to Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG). The “Give the Gift of Agriculture – Double Your Impact Challenge” runs through December 31 with a total fundraising goal of $30,000.
For many children of all ages, Halloween is synonymous with the American tradition of dressing up in costume and heading out into the neighborhood with friends and family to trick-or-treat and collect candy in the crisp autumn air.
However, with the coronavirus still spreading throughout much of the country, including in California, families are advised to take extra precautions this year, which could mean finding new and innovative ways to safely celebrate this holiday, according to a health expert.
Seasons Catering began 2020 celebrating its 20th year in business. It was to be a big year with many caterings booked for weddings, corporate events, premieres, and more. Then COVID hit and changed everything. Not one to let herself fall victim to her circumstances, Gabrielle Moes, Founder and CEO of Seasons Catering quickly pivoted, at a time when events and catering were temporarily shut down, to launch Good2Go heat and serve meals, available at www.thegood2go.com
BENEFICIAL WASPS RELEASED IN LOS ANGELES, ORANGE, RIVERSIDE AND VENTURA COUNTIES TO HELP FIGHT DEADLY CITRUS TREE DISEASE
California Department of Food and Agriculture is Releasing Thousands of Insects This Week
The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) announces its call for proposals for the 2020 Food System Resilience Grants. The grants are given to support the achievement of Food Action Plan goals by contributing to the broader food systems of Santa Barbara County. SBCFAN will be awarding the grants in partnership with the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. Funding for this program is made possible by a grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Welcome to the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network’s first newsletter! We appreciate your time and attention in a year filled with new information coming at you by the minute. Rest assured the content will be relevant, inclusive, informative, and valuable to both you as an individual and our community Countywide. The quarterly newsletter will include: a feature on recent collaborative activation of Food Action Plan goals; a community profile in Santa Barbara County that is building food system resilience; upcoming events and funding opportunities; ways to take action.
Good afternoon, There are 51 new cases today (4 (7.8%) of which have a lab collection from September 18th or earlier), 833 additional people tested, and 3 additional deaths (68 year old female, 37 year old female, and 99 year old male, all with comorbidities). The current doubling time was 121.4 days.
Ventura County is currently in the purple tier which they have designated as widespread transmission as of September 22. Our current data published as of September 22 is 7.4 (purple tier) for the case rate and 3.8% (orange tier) for the positivity rate for the measurement period ending September 12; this will keep us in the purple tier until the next measurement which will be on September 29.
Latino community leaders and critical donors are taking action to support farm working families in Ventura County. These essential workers have not stopped working to feed Californians and the nation before, during, and after COVID 19 pandemic hit the US. The campaign, known as “Feeding the Frontline: Feeding our Farmworkers,” will be hosting a food distribution event to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month with a “Day of Service” on September 26, 2020. There would have been additional sites but for surges that have occurred in many of these communities.
The Census helps determine how billions in federal funding is distributed to our community over the next 10 years.
There are three easy ways to complete the Census survey:
By phone at 1-844-330-2020
Online at www.my2020census.gov
By mail – you can send in the paper form that you should have received in the mail if you still have not completed the Census.
As part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America ALL STARS annual grant program, sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) has received 200 sport balls to help local Club kids participate in a healthy activity at home.
Both the WHO and CDC recommends a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity everyday for youth. With kids being at home and parks and playgrounds being closed, being active for 60 minutes becomes that much harder for some youth, especially those who are disadvantaged.
September is National Preparedness Month and is a good time for your family and community to make sure they have a disaster plan now and throughout the year. As our community continues to respond to COVID-19 and we head into peak wildfire season, there is no better time to get prepared than now.
Make a plan today! Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.
For more tips and to view a printable version of the Ready Ventura County Emergency Preparedness Guide, click on the link below.
Although we have not reduced our cases enough to move from the purple tier to red tier according to the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy metrics, we are making significant progress. On August 31st, the county’s 7-day case rate was 9.0 per 100,000 population. Yesterday, the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health released our first official report card number as 8.3 cases per 100,000 population. We need to lower our 7-day average positive case number to 7 per 100,000 population to move to the red tier. If we remain vigilant and maintain this positive momentum, we will likely be able to move to the red tier by the end of September. See more about which sectors can operate in each tier.
National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year. As our community continues to respond to COVID-19, there is no better time to be involved this September.
Make a plan today! Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect our area. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.
Visit readyventuracounty.org
he Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 1 approved the program design of the Farmworker Household Assistance Program, providing up to $250,000 in county general funds to match private donations made through the Ventura County Community Foundation.
The program aims to provide farmworkers financial relief from the impacts of COVID-19. Farmworkers may apply for this funding assistance from September 1 at 5 p.m. through September 30, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. at www.vchsa.org/FHAP.
¡Vota de forma segura desde casa este noviembre!
Debido a la pandemia del COVID-19, por ley, cada votante recibirá una papeleta de votación por correo para las Elecciones Generales del 3 de noviembre. Su papeleta de votación será enviada por correo el 5 de octubre para promover el voto seguro desde casa. Usted no necesita solicitar una papeleta de votación para Votar Por Correo.
Los votantes no serán asignados a ningún centro de votación. Habrá 47 centros de votación disponibles en todo el Condado de Ventura que abrirán el sábado 31 de octubre hasta el Día de Las Elecciones, el martes, 3 de noviembre. Las 33 cajas de entrega estarán disponibles el 6 de octubre hasta el Día de las Elecciones.
During the 1st Semester of Santa Maria Joint Union High School District’s Distance Learning, August 17, 2020 – December 18, 2020, the Food Service Department will provide walk-up and drive thru pick-up breakfast and lunch meal service at the student’s nearest comprehensive high school – Santa Maria, Pioneer Valley, and Ernest Righetti as well as at various locations throughout the community.
Please note that your student’s meal eligibility from the 2019-2020 school year will carryover into the 2020- 2021 school year through September 28, 2020. Please make sure you submit a new application either online at https://family.titank12.com/ or a paper application – available from food service staff, school community liaison’s office, school administration office and at the main District Office. If a new application is not received, effective September 29, 2020, students will need to pay for meals until a new application is processed and approved.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams shares an important message for Americans: To slow the spread of coronavirus, each of us must continue to take personal responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones. By doing just a few simple things, we can make a big difference.
As Labor Day approaches, in a couple of weeks, please don’t make plans to gather with others. BBQ’s and parties are a usual tradition on holiday weekends but it’s important that we fight COVID together by not gathering.
These steps are challenging and inconvenient but they can make a big difference in bringing down our numbers and saving lives.Please only gather with members of your household. Please wear masks in public places and practice social distancing.
Together we can fight COVID-19.
Community Environmental Council announces Community Ambassador Resilience and Equity Response (CARER), a new pilot program aimed to foster community resilience and support climate justice efforts by responding to immediate needs of frontline communities during the pandemic.
CARER’s primary goal is to provide critical outreach to frontline community members, sharing resources and information related to COVID-19 public health, food access, and tenant rights. One way they are doing this is by conducting direct bilingual outreach to frontline community members and convening online or phone-based house meetings.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Warning for Santa Barbara County. Smoke from wildfires burning throughout the state, including in Monterey County, are affecting local air quality, and conditions may continue over the next several days. Due to elevated temperatures and stagnant air conditions, we are also experiencing increased ozone levels in regions of the county.
If sustainably managed, wild fisheries and mariculture could help meet the rising demand for food in the long term.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) recently received a $5,000 grant from Farmers Insurance® to help fund COVID-19 relief efforts.
The grant will help provide healthy meals, high-speed internet access and academic support, vital enrichment programming to bridge gaps in virtual learning, social & emotional learning and more for vulnerable families and youth.
Food Share, Ventura County’s largest hunger-relief organization, has partnered with Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) to bring the “Fueling Our Communities” program to Ventura County with drive-thru meal distribution events in Santa Paula and El Rio community in Oxnard. The events, which were funded in part by the utility, provided more than 26,000 free meals to individuals and families struggling with food insecurity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since mid-May, Food Share of Ventura County has provided a staggering 4.1 million pounds of fresh produce to people experiencing hunger in the county.
The scale of food insecurity in Ventura County has nearly doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current projections from Feeding America show that 115,000 people, including 42,000 children in our County, are now facing a daily struggle to access enough nutritious food.
The fresh produce is a result of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Farmers to Families Food Box Program.” Oxnard-based wholesale produce distributor, The Berry Man, was approved to deliver the first 3.6 million dollars of a 14.7 million dollar contract to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to nonprofits throughout the Tri-Counties Area. The majority of the produce is locally-grown.
The Library presents its shortlist of books under consideration for UCSB Reads 2021 and invites the campus community to vote for their preference.
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The apparently never-ending coronavirus pandemic has punched a hole in the panorama that was our American diet up to now. Suddenly, beginning earlier this year, meat became scarce. Delicately balanced supply chains were knocked off-balance, partly due to meat production workers “dropping like flies” as the virus surged through factories and warehouses. Meat counters in grocery stores became sparse and the cost of the meat that was available started to rise due to demand for the limited supply. Major grocery outlets started rationing quantities of meat to its customers to avoid the toilet-paper-hoarding fiasco that occurred at the beginning of the pandemic.
Here’s your COVID-19 update from the County of Ventura from Friday-Sunday. There are 533 new cases today (231 (43.3%) of which have a lab collection from July 27th or earlier), 4,217 additional people tested, and 0 additional deaths; this includes reports from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Current doubling time is 43.8 days.
The CWC Docs virtual dialogue with filmmakers Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia centers on the women of color who are transforming politics.
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The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District announces its policy to serve nutritious meals every school day under The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the household income is less than or equal to the federal guidelines.
Here’s your County of Ventura COVID – 19 update:
94 new cases
6,049 total cases
1,524 new people tested
3,100 recovered cases
90 hospitalized
22 current ICU
2,886 active cases under quarantine
63 deaths (1 additional death – 84 year old female with comorbidity)
98,648 total people tested
7/20 3pm Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura
7/20 12pm St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 185 St. Thomas Drive, Ojai
7/21 5pm Food Share of Ventura County, 4156 Southbank Rd., Oxnard
7/22 3pm College Park, 3250 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard
7/23 3pm Conejo Creek South, 1300 Janss Rd., Thousand Oaks
7/24 3pm Harding Park, 1330 E. Harvard Blvd., Santa Paula
7/25 12:30pm Ruben Castro Charities, Career Education Center, 5700 Condor Dr., Moorpark
Several additional businesses have recently reopened at The Collection at RiverPark for the community to enjoy this summer.
Many restaurants and stores at The Collection remained open throughout the pandemic as essential businesses, and several others have reopened over the past several weeks. The businesses that have most recently reopened include:
Breakfast and lunch meals provided for Children 18 & Under Desayuno y almuerzo para Niños 18 & Menores
WHEN / CUANDO July 6/6 de julio – July 31/31 de julio Meals for Tuesday will be given on Monday and meals for Thursday and Friday will be given on Wednesday. Las comidas para el martes se darán los lunes y las comidas para el jueves y viernes se darán los miércoles.
Good Evening, Here’s your COVID-19 update from the County of Ventura.
69 new cases
3,858 total cases
12,353 new people tested
2,082 recovered cases
79 hospitalized
31 in the ICU
1,726 active cases under quarantine
50 deaths
76,400 total people tested
Ford Dealership, 128 S. Hallock Dr., Santa Paula, CA 93060 M-F, 10-7
Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Rd., Moorpark, CA 93021 M-F, 10-7
Oxnard College, 4000 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033 F-T, 10-7
Ventura College, 4667 Telegraph Rd., Ventura CA 93003, M-F, 10-7
Testing also available at all County clinics and state sites. Information in the attached pdf.
The Port of Hueneme and local community partners Clinicas Del Camino Real, Lujan Transport Inc., Port customer Del Monte and more, as part of the Feeding the Frontline, Feeding our Farmworkers effort, have hosted 20 food distributions across the County of Ventura. The Port has played an important role in coordinating these events and bringing together different partners to help address the current food scarcity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest event was held on Saturday, June 27 at the Orvene S. Carpenter Community Center in Port Hueneme and had the full support of the City of Port Hueneme.
Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Association (VCCFMA) announces its 4th of July schedule for 2020.
The Downtown Ventura Market held on the corner of Santa Clara & Palm Streets will be closed on Saturday, July 4. All other markets will remain open.
A researcher uncovers why most of the geological records left by ancient rivers preserve processes more commonplace than extraordinary.
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VENTURA COUNTY — Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, extreme-value grocery retailer, on June 24 launched its tenth consecutive Independence from Hunger Food Drive to combat food insecurity. From June 24 – July 31, 2020, the campaign will collect cash donations and pre-made bags of nonperishable foods in-store at Grocery Outlet’s 350 locations that will be distributed to local food agencies partners. In addition to the local store donations, Grocery Outlet has initiated a “Million Dollar Match,” a pledge to match up to $1 Million of donations made to the stores to multiply Independence from Hunger’s effort to support food agencies across the nation.
COVID-19 is having a severe impact on the country’s food supply and demand. At the same time, the unemployment rate is skyrocketing, driving more people to seek first-time food assistance than ever before. Southern California-based produce recovery nonprofit Food Forward is stepping up to meet the need in Ventura County during this crucial time.
As Ventura County’s hospitalized COVD-19 cases have stabilized, the Ventura County Public Health Officer has issued new guidance permitting the reopening of additional businesses that were previously closed. Sectors that may reopen with modifications, social distancing protocols, and completion of the attestation process include, but are not limited to:
Ventura County Business Assistance Grant Program applications launch June 24-July 8, 2020. The program includes grants of $5,000 for small businesses to alleviate impacts from COVID-19. Learn more at www.vcreopens.com.
Food Share Pop-up Sites
6/15 3 pm Ventura County Fairgrounds 1- W. Harbor Blvd
6/16 5 pm El Rio, Rio Mesa High School, 545 Central Ave
6/17 3pm Oxnard, College Park, 3250 South Rose Ave
6/18 3 pm Thousand Oaks, Conejo Creek South, 1300 E. Janns Road
6/19 3 pm, Santa Paula, Harding Park, 1330 E. Harvard Blvd
6/20/20 12:30 pm Moorpark, Ruben Castro Charities, 5700 Condor Drive
This Saturday, June 13th, the farmworkers’ rights group “Feeding the Frontline: Feeding our Farmworkers” will join with Latino activists and donors throughout California and Washington State to provide food distribution events for farm-working families who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic even while working to feed Americans. These efforts will include events in six agricultural counties throughout California, including Ventura, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Tulare, Fresno, and San Benito counties.
“This pandemic underscores the invaluable contributions farmworkers provide our communities, state, and nation,” shared Roberto Juarez, who heads Clinicas Del Camino Real, an organization helping lead Saturday’s events. “What COVID-19 has done to farm workers is to simply lay bare and even exacerbate the inequities they were already facing – ranging from health care disparities to poor living conditions and low wages that families simply cannot live on. …”
Marine biologists forecast the effects of oil platform decommissioning on fish communities.
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Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) organized produce donations from 13 different growers to fill over 4,000 bags of fresh produce for farm workers in need. The produce was distributed weekly in April and May.
Participating growers were Gill’s Onions, Houweling’s Group, San Miguel Produce, Earthtrine Farm, Saticoy Lemon Association, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Petty Ranch, Calavo, Mission Produce, Tamai Family Farms, Fig Tree Farms, Chivas Skin Care and Bennett’s Honey Farm.
Restaurants, retail stores and businesses now reopening to serve customers OXNARD — With the stay-at-home orders beginning to lift in Ventura County, The Collection at RiverPark is now welcoming visitors back to enjoy the outdoor shopping center. Throughout The Collection, retail…
The Ventura College Foundation’s Weekend Marketplace will reopen May 30 and 31 and will continue to be open every weekend. The Marketplace has been closed since March 14 when social distancing restrictions took effect because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Marketplace will initially have 39 vendor booths and will safely limit customer attendance. Prior to the shutdown, the Marketplace drew about 2,000 shoppers each weekend with 300 to 400 vendors.
