Free summer lunch for kids

Summer can be a tough time for children who rely on free and reduced-price meals during the school year. So this summer, free "Grab & Go" take-away meals will be available to all children (18 or younger) at over 50 locations countywide. No paperwork or registration is required. Measures have been taken to ensure the safety and cleanliness of each site. Choose from three ways to find the location nearest you:

• Text SUMMERFOOD to 877-877 or text FOOD to 877-877
• Click here for a list of all locations and their hours of operation
• Call the Foodbank at (805) 967-5741

The meals are made possible by the USDA Summer Food Service Program, No Kid Hungry, Goleta Union School District, Santa Barbara Unified School District, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, the United Way, the City of Santa Barbara, Community Action Commission and the United Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara County.

Free summer lunches for kids

Children ages 1-18 can get a free lunch on weekdays while schools are closed for summer! See this printable flyer (2-sided, bilingual) for dates, times and locations throughout the county. Or text SUMMERFOOD to 877-877 for a location near you. 

For more information about why this program is so important, read on.

Backpacks for Foster Children 2012 Succeeds



The Backpacks for Foster Children project was back this year and very successful, providing back-to-school backpacks and supplies for about 200 children and youth served by the county’s foster care system. 

Packed Up, Ready to Learn

WCBN members surround DSS Deputy Director Delfino Neira with good vibes...and backpacks.

Imagine being a kid on your first day back at school, and not having a backpack or school supplies…maybe because you don’t have parents looking out for you. Thanks in part to a local nonprofit’s donation of 48 spiffy new backpacks and school supplies, youth in our foster care system didn’t find themselves short of those school tools when the school year began.