Foodbank of Santa Barbara County logo

Virtual
Food Drive

More Than Turkeys,
Harvest Kindness This Season

This fall for our Virtual Food Drive we encourage you to help provide nutritious groceries to children, families and older adults in need! Your donation will help stock a neighbor's shelves with essential items like wholesome produce, holiday meal staples and pantry basics. Every dollar raised makes a difference, supporting the Foodbank’s mission to combat food insecurity and ensure that everyone can enjoy a warm, and filling meal this holiday season. Let’s come together to make this fall a time of giving and community support!

Nourish a Neighbor!

Choose an amount to donate monthly
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, and your donation is tax deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Please keep your receipt as your official record. We'll email it to you upon successful completion of your donation.

Check out our shopping list!

Turkeys

Help us purchase frozen turkeys, chickens, and ham, which are significant protein staples during the holidays!
$
USD

Holiday Staples

Help us purchase stuffing mix, instant mashed potatoes, canned cranberry sauce, canned pumpkin, canned/frozen green beans, corn, and sweet potatoes, gravy, evaporated milk, rice, pasta, broth or stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable), boxed baking mixes (cookies, brownies), hot cocoa, tea, and coffee.
$
USD

Fresh Produce

Help us purchase fresh produce, including: squash, carrots, broccoli, spinach, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, pears, pineapple, melon, and avocados.
$
USD

Canned Proteins

Help us purchase canned or packaged salmon, chicken, ham, tuna, legumes, and beans.
$
USD

Nut Butters

Help us purchase nut butters like peanut, almond, and cashew.
$
USD

Milk

Help us purchase dairy products, another great source of protein.
$
USD

Foodbank Information:

Did you know that the Foodbank can turn every $1 you donate into $5 worth of nutritious groceries? Thanks to our purchasing power, your contribution goes further—allowing us to provide nourishing food for families across the county.

Every holiday season the Foodbank hosts an annual Turkey Drive, in order to provide wholesome, holiday meals for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. This year the Foodbank is encouraging you to donate money over turkeys, in order to harness the Foodbank’s buying power making every dollar go further.


Make a Difference: Your contributions to the Virtual Food Drive go directly toward providing nutritious food and ensuring no one in our community goes without food this holiday season.

Foodbank Need:

Community Impact: Food prices have risen by an average of 25% from 2019 to 2023, according to the USDA, significantly straining family budgets and making it more difficult to ensure that meals are regularly available. In Santa Barbara County, the situation is exacerbated by high poverty rates, with 17% of residents—and nearly 20% of children—lacking the resources necessary to meet basic needs, including food. This combination of rising costs and economic hardship highlights the urgent need for community support to help families access the nutritious meals they require to thrive.

Winter Struggles: As the winter months approach, many in our community face reduced work hours in agriculture and service industries, leading to financial strain. During the holiday season last year, the Foodbank served more than 52,400 unduplicated neighbors. The Foodbank provides much-needed relief when work and wages are unpredictable for our community members.

Food Insecurity Impact: Across the U.S. there is an ongoing hunger crisis. In the last year, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County served more than 215,000 neighbors. This is a significant increase from the pre-pandemic ‘normal’ of about 180,000 neighbors served annually and is on par with the highest level of need they witnessed during the peak of COVID-19.