Hello,
Spring is a vibrant time for our food system – farmers are harvesting their first crops of the year, eaters are savoring the abundance, and many of you are busy working on and/or trying to garner funding for projects (see below for the latest funding opportunities).
This season, SBCFAN is sharing stories of collaboration that are activating closed loop systems and projects that build resilience, access, justice, and sovereignty into the food system – read our South County Community Profile to learn more.
Since launching SBCFAN membership in mid-March, we have welcomed dozens of food system actors like you to connect, align, and activate on our new online hub. Membership has doubled in the last 30 days as food producers, consumers, and other food system actors start Discussions, join Working Groups, share events, and collaborate on projects. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to become a member today – we need all of us working together to build a stronger, more resilient food system.
Eat well,
Shakira Miracle, Executive Director
Santa Barbara County Food Action Network
PS. We hope you’ll join us for our Spring Membership Gatheringon May 20 – see below for details. |
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Community Profile
South Santa Barbara County
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| South Santa Barbara County is known for its thriving local food culture. From Carpinteria to Goleta, the region hosts vibrant farmer’s markets five days a week offering year-round seasonal produce, grains, meat, seafood, and artisan food products, dozens of farm-forward restaurants, specialty food shops, and grocers, and a community that values environmentally sustainable practices for agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture.
Still, there are places in South County where among this vibrancy, the food system is fragile, unsustainable, and/or inaccessible. Fortunately, there are many food system actors – farmers, nonprofits, businesses, cooperatives, and consumers – who are connecting and aligning to activate closed loop systems and projects that build resilience, access, justice, and sovereignty into the food system.
Read more > |
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Spring Membership Gathering
Happy Hour: food system trivia
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| Join us on Thursday, May 20 at 4:30 p.m. for our first SBCFAN Membership Gathering – bring your favorite beverage, connect with other food system actors, learn more about the Network, and sharpen your food system knowledge. This is a members only event; if you’re not yet a member, become one today! |
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California Underserved and Small Producers Program
Open until May 10, 2021
Who should apply: nonprofits, public agencies, tribal governments
The CUSP Grant Program is designed to facilitate direct assistance to individual small-scale, mid-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who need support applying for economic relief grant programs and assistance with business planning and marketing strategies. Learn more and apply.
Growing Future Organic Professionals Grants
Open until May 14 or November 12, 2021 depending on grant
Who should apply: middle and high school students, vocational and higher education students
California Certified Organic Farmers’ (CCOF) Future Organic Farmers program provides financial support for organic education from middle school through college. Learn more and apply.
Restaurant Revitalization Fund
Open starting April 30, 2021 until funding runs out
Who should apply: restaurants, caterers, food artisans
The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. Provides funding equal to pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. Learn more and apply and attend this free webinar on May 12.
COVID-19 Emergency Business Assistance Program
Open May 10 – June 30, 2021, or until funding runs out
Who should apply: food, hospitality, tourism businesses (5 or less employees)
The County of Santa Barbara, in partnership with the Santa Barbara Foundation, announce the Emergency Business Assistance Grant Program that consists of two components: microenterprise business assistance and small business assistance grants. Eligible microenterprise businesses may apply for up to $10,000 in funding, while eligible small businesses may apply for up to $25,000. Learn more and apply.
USDA Local Regional Food Producers Grants
Open now until June 21 or July 6, 2021 depending on program
Who should apply: farmers markets, CSAs, food hubs, value-added products, public-private partnerships
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making available $92.2 million in competitive grant funding under the 2018 Farm Bill’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) through the Farmers Market Promotion Program, Local Food Promotion Program, and Regional Food Systems Partnerships program. Learn more and apply. |
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Culturally inclusive healthy eating for all
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SBCFAN’s Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) Kayla Mallari plays an integral role in the Network, sharing her lens of nutrition equity and food justice. Mallari’s work centers around creating a more culturally inclusive idea of what healthy eating looks like while providing sustainable food access and food literacy for all. She is currently collaborating with the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, creating accessible food literacy programs – and serves as a clinical dietitian at Community Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles.
To learn more, watch this clip from a recent webinar where Mallari shares her lived and learned experience with food justice during her journey in becoming an RDN.
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| As we work together to build a more resilient food system for Santa Barbara County, we’d like to know what about food interests you.
Which of these food preservation techniques most interest you?
Canning Pickling Jamming Fermenting
Freezing Curing Smoking Freezing
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