SANTA BARBARA COUNTY — It’s peak citrus season in Santa Barbara and that means there’s lots of excess healthy — and delicious — fruit to harvest and distribute to those in need.
Backyard Bounty, a volunteer program of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, is urgently seeking volunteers and donations to help harvest and distribute 225,00 pounds of produce from County backyards and farms by April 1.
“California’s fruit tree season ramps up when we need it most — during the winter when we struggle to keep our warehouse stocked with fresh produce,” said Jamie Nichols, Chief Operations Officer for the Foodbank. “In order to grow and sustain our fruit harvesting program we need funds to provide equipment, education and opportunities for more volunteers and donors to glean fruit in their own community.”
Santa Barbara is well known for its agricultural abundance; in fact, 4.85 millions pounds of fresh produce is distributed each year by the Foodbank. Yet, millions of pounds of food go un-harvested in fields and neighborhoods across our region. Backyard Bounty is dedication to changing that with gleaning — an opportunity for communities to come together and help fight hunger right in their own backyards, while connecting with their neighbors, reducing food waste and creating a healthier community.
Backyard Bounty is currently experiencing a 340% increase in the amount of sites to harvest in Santa Barbara County. In the last three months alone volunteers, donors and partners have harvested 80,000 pounds of fresh local produce. With 40 local sites — ranging from commercial orchards to small backyard plots — donated (and ready) for gleaning, Backyard Bounty is in need of both volunteer and financial support to ensure the fruit doesn’t go to waste and instead reaches those in need.
“In order to keep up with demand, Backyard Bounty needs your help to make sure we have the equipment and resources to train more volunteers and reach more donors,” added Nichols. “By investing in Backyard Bounty you can help make sure that everyone in our community has access to fresh, healthy, local produce.”
Volunteer your time, your harvest or donate to help reach the Foodbank’s April 1 goal.
Here’s how:
Volunteer
Volunteer and help provide fresh and local produce to those in need.
Donate a Harvest
Do you have an orchard, small farm or backyard brimming with too much produce? If you have more than 100 pieces of produce, we can provide volunteers and equipment to help harvest your produce.
Donate Dollars
Your donation will help grow the capacity and impact of Backyard Bounty throughout Santa Barbara County. Every dollar invested to the Backyard Bounty Program yields 4.5 pounds of fresh, local produce that goes directly to turning hunger into health.
Your donation helps the Foodbank:
- Fuel their trucks.
- Power the cooler/freezer unit and properly store fresh, local produce.
- Support Foodbank staff team members who manage the program and produce inventory and delivery to the community.
- Provide Harvest Kits for volunteers with clippers, pole pickers, ladders and first aid kits.
- Distribute outreach and educational materials for volunteers, farmers and homeowners.
About Backyard Bounty: Backyard Bounty is a volunteer powered program of the Foodbank which harvests fresh produce from residential yards, orchards and farms throughout Santa Barbara County. Each year Santa Barbara County produces over $1 billion worth of produce and one in four properties has food growing on it. However, more than 30% of the produce grown in our community is wasted. It’s the mission of Backyard Bounty to use this excess produce to supply the Foodbank’s network of 300 non-profit partners and programs with the freshest fruits and vegetables available.
About Foodbank Santa Barbara County: The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is transforming health by eliminating hunger and food insecurity through good nutrition and food literacy. The Foodbank provides nourishment and education through its award-winning programs and a network of over 300 member non-profit partners. In Santa Barbara County, one in four people receive food support from the Foodbank; over 146,000 unduplicated people of whom nearly 35% are children. Last year, the Foodbank distributed 9.7 million pounds of food — half of which was fresh produce. For more information, visit www.foodbanksbc.org.