Unity Shoppe Responds Immediately to Coronavirus Impact on Community with Massive Food Distribution Program

Unity Shoppe (Unity) is offering free food and other essentials to Santa Barbarans who are now unemployed or unable to work due to the spread and impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on our Community. To meet the overwhelming need, Unity has consolidated its offerings to food distribution alone and now estimates it is serving more than three times the number of families that came in for services just 10 days ago. As daily layoffs continue and vulnerable populations — the unemployed, single-parent families, seniors on fixed incomes, the disabled and homebound — begin to run out of groceries, Unity anticipates that it will go through larger quantities of food and other supplies than ever before to keep up with the growing demand. Donations from the public are needed immediately to purchase both fresh produce (fruits and vegetables), and canned, jarred and boxed staples with longer shelf lives, as well as masks and disinfecting wipes to keep Unity staff and the public safe.

Unity is following the most up-to-date guidelines for sanitization and safety as advocated by the County and State; staff wear masks and gloves, and social distancing requirements are being observed in order to keep essential staff and our Community’s most at-risk members healthy and safe.

“We are living in unprecedented times,” says Tom Reed, Unity’s Executive Director. “Hourly employees, whose work hours and wages have been scaled back dramatically or have been let go, either cannot work or must work skeletal shifts are finding their food supplies dwindling. The closing of their children’s schools and daycare centers are further complicating their lives..” He added, “Our area’s seniors and disabled folks, who live on fixed incomes, or have compromised immune systems, who might be homebound or have trouble getting around, are wondering how they’ll possibly get through this alone.”

Over the next six to 12 months, Unity anticipates that its services will be utilized to capacity much like they were during the Thomas Fires and Montecito Debris Flow. If you are in need of food or other essentials, call Unity’s main number at 805-965-4122 for assistance. Unity Shoppe Food Distribution Services is located at 1401 Chapala Street, M-F, 1pm-4pm , until further notice. To make monetary donations, go to unityshoppe.org or mail checks to 1209 State Street, SB 93101. Donations of nonperishables can be dropped off at Unity’s side entrance: 110 West Sola Street, M-F, 10am to 5 pm. Reed adds, “Additional residents and households are already relying on us for support; right now is the time for us to multiply our inventory levels of food and other essentials swiftly and methodically so that not a single person in need is turned away due to a depletion of Unity resources.”

The average of 15,000+ clients Unity serves each year are referred by over 300 other non-profits throughout Santa Barbara County to one of its eight different support programs. The Unity Grocery Store and Clothing Center is relied upon by 10,000 households annually. Low-income families shop for food and clothing to help them make ends meet in order to avoid welfare dependency and homelessness. More than 1,800 volunteers work alongside Unity staff, including hundreds of seniors who help a range of residents with their handiwork; 5,000 essentials care packages are distributed locally by volunteers to homebound seniors and the disabled. Santa Barbara youth turn to Unity to help their community as well as learn transferable job skills.