Join us Saturday, January 23 from 9:00-noon at Grace Lutheran Church (3869 State Street in Santa Barbara) as we double the size of the garden we built in early 2009. We are excited about the demand for the garden plots, which were quickly reserved by community members last spring, and look forward to helping provide more. No previous gardening or construction experience is needed. Individuals and families of all ages are welcomed as we help provide the infrastructure for community outreach at Grace Lutheran.

In Santa Barbara, there are many in need to basic resources, even food. To address this need, the Santa Barbara Community Development Center (SBCDC) and A Rocha have partnered to grow organic produce on the property of Santa Barbara Community Church, calling it the Five Loaves Project.

Working together, we can take action to meet our neighbors’ basic needs. The Five Loaves Project will provide a healthy and reliable source of fresh produce for SBCDC. This organizaiton provides a range of services to our poorest neighbors in Isla Vista, the Westside, and the Eastside of Santa Barbara.

On-site, the project will be overseen by A Rocha, the local manifestation of an international non-profit Christian conservation organization. The produce from the project will go to the poor through existing distribution channels at SBCDC. Recently there has been a significant increase in the number of people needing to participate in SBCDC’s feeding program. Sadly, there has been an equally significant reduction in food donations.

The goal of the Five Loaves project is to become a source of fresh produce for 150 individuals by October 2010.

Will you join us in this exciting service project?  Here are some ideas about how you can help generate involvement:

-Share this vision and details with others.

-Get your hands dirty! Help plant and harvest.

-Give money (one time and/or monthly)

-Visit SBCDC and see the real need that this will address in people’s lives.

Donations can be mailed to A Rocha USA, P.O. Box 1335, Fredricksburg, TX 78624

Contact us at 805-613-SBAR or info@arochasb.org to be added to our enews updates & for more info.

All donations are tax deductible as described by law.

A Rocha USA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

We are excited to partner with the Trevor and the rest of the Safe Parking project to create an organic food source to feed the homeless. The project will be built in three phases and Phase I ground breaking will take place Saturday, November 14 at 9:00 AM on the corner of Cieneguitas Road and Calle Caridad in Santa Barbara. The event will create a series of raised beds that will be planted in late winter. More information about this event will follow in the days to come.

Join us this Saturday, October 17th, from 8:00 AM-10:00 AM at the Eastside Community Garden as we rehabilitate three existing raised beds, amend the soil with organics and plant seeds. The garden is located in the Eastside Neighborhood Park on the corner of Soledad and Yanonali. Bring a friend and help build capacity for the Eastside outreach that Ruben and Holly Gil run.

I spoke with Doug at Backyard Harvest today and am very inspired by their work. Backyard Harvest collects produce from homes in our area that would otherwise go to waste and distributes it to those in need. This is a great way to steward the produce grown at our own homes that might otherwise rot. Check them out here to get involved.

I am excited to announce our next project: developing a five acre organic agricultural resource that will provide food for some of the neediest in our community. We are partnering with the Santa Barbara Community Development Center to provide food through an existing distribution program. Our goal is to raise enough organic produce to meet the needs of 150 people through creating this resource on the Santa Barbara Community Church property in our local foothills. More information about this project and how you can become involved will be posted in the days to come.

I just spent the morning reviewing the details of the upcoming garden build at Turnpike Church of Christ. This project will be part of our Creation Care Symposium on held Oct. 9-10. This garden will serve as a resource for both the church and the neighborhood by providing a set of raised beds for those interested in raising their own organic food. Email us at symposium@arochasb.org and join us on October 10 from 9:30-noon for this event. Children are welcomed and food will be provided.

Join us at 9:30 a.m., October 10, during our Creation Care Symposium, at Turnpike Church of Christ (677 N Turnpike Rd, Santa Barbara, CA). We will construct our latest community garden that will be used to provide a neighborhood organic garden. RSVP at symposium@arochasb.org

A thanks to Laurel and Jonna for passing along some great resources as we begin working on a new project that connects conservation work to our community garden initiative. We have been very thankful for the response from local churches who have been requesting assistance in creating community gardens. With these opportunities comes the ability to begin practical conservation work through utilizing citizen scientists to both educate about and promote biodiversity in our community. We look forward to sharing this work with you and invite you to join us as we begin a new garden on October 10 as part of our Creation Care Symposium. To find out more information about this event and to RSVP, view the invitation here.

Jon Rosene and a crew from Long Beach have been working to take an empty lot and turn it into a community garden to help provide food for those in need. Jon and his wife Lydia visited us in Santa Barbara a few months back to talk about developing an urban garden. Check out there work here. I look forward to providing updates on this project. Let us know if you are thinking about doing something similar or have questions - we would love to help.

garden@arochasb.org