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Santa Barbara, CA – November 5, 2025 – Rooted Santa Barbara County recently received a grant of $100,000 from the Mosher Foundation. The award, the largest gift in the organization’s history, will invest in the expansion of food literacy and nutrition education programs in Santa Barbara County with a focus on supporting neighbors with the greatest barriers to good health and the healthcare and direct service teams that support them. This transformational investment will support the $1,000,000 Take Root Campaign, an effort to establish food as medicine, food literacy, and lifestyle medicine as key priorities in our county’s health system and community infrastructure, so all our neighbors can Eat to Thrive.
“Our goal is to support the expansion of programs outlined in the Take Root campaign,” said Mosher Foundation President Yvette Birch Giller. “We understand with this programmatic investment, Rooted will advance health care and community health worker training, expand hands-on, interactive, culturally resonant community nutrition education, and deepen outreach and community engagement in Santa Barbara County. Our investment in Rooted Santa Barbara County over the years has shown significant returns and we know that with the organization’s leadership and strong team, this will continue now and in the future.”
“We are honored and deeply grateful to the Mosher Foundation for this very generous grant,” said Rooted Santa Barbara County Executive Lead Beth Skidmore. “With this significant funding in place, we can begin to expand the support of our community as we all work together to Eat to Thrive!”
The grant from the Mosher Foundation will enable Rooted to expand partnerships and programming such as the Eat to Thrive/Comer Para Prosperar Jumpstart. First presented in partnership with the Santa Barbara Public Library this summer, the program consists of a series of four workshops in both English and Spanish. Led by Registered Dietitian and Education Lead Mary Galindo, the program bridges food is medicine and food literacy in a fun, welcoming, and interactive series designed to make eating more fiber easy, delicious, culturally familiar and sustainable. Several healthcare and community partners countywide are already linking arms to bring customized sessions, cafecitos, and the full Jumpstart series to their teams and communities, further expanding Rooted’s reach and impact across the county.
The recent gift is part of Rooted’s $1,000,000 Take Root fundraising campaign, designed to remove barriers to good health and ensure that every neighbor has the tools, skills, and support to eat to thrive. This campaign will fund annual, growing programs and establish a founding staff team, moving Rooted from a volunteer-driven, startup model to an established, strategic, staffed organization and staple community partner. “With this foundation in place, we can proactively deliver programs, grow partnerships, and implement our long-term business model to invest in the long-term health of our community for years to come,” said Beth Skidmore.
Rooted Santa Barbara County is a community-powered nonprofit transforming health through fiber-forward nutrition and lifestyle-based approaches to preventing and improving chronic disease. Rooted’s Eat to Thrive education programs provide practical, inclusive, and culturally relevant support, respectful of every journey and starting point. The organization helps individuals, families, and care teams access and enjoy fiber-rich, foods, and bring food and lifestyle into both prevention and treatment plans— at home, in clinics, and in the community. For more information about the organization, visit Rooted’s website.
