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Working together, local government and non-profits in Santa Barbara, Calif. (43.74% Latino) are redesigning the food environment to focus on health and sustainability.
According to a local article, over half of county residents are overweight or obese, and face difficulties in access to healthy foods, affordable housing, health care and more. A Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) report on health behavior shows that over 70% of adults or 214,354 adults over the age of eighteen within the county have inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption- consuming less than five servings of fruit and vegetables each day.
“Population growth in the county is expected to increase by 100,000 people”, Sigrid Wright of the Community Environmental Council told the Pacific Coast Business Times, stating that more is needed to be done to address the agriculture lands, water supply and transportation needs of the growing county.
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and the Community Environmental Council spearheaded a Food Action Plan two years ago to help drive government and local agencies to address the changes needed including but not limited to helping school kitchens serve healthier foods, investing in food distribution infrastructure, creating housing for ag workers, protecting land, and reducing food waste.
The food system reform will need sustainable funding to continue to implement the changes, however, Santa Barbara Foundation president and CEO, Ron Gallo said at a local press conference that they plan to enlist the will, passion and financial resources in solving the problems going forward.
To read the full article, click here.
By The Numbers
142
Percent
Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years
