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.

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 finished reading Where Am I Wearing? (Wiley Press) by Kelsey Timmerman. The book did a great job putting faces and context to the lives of the people who make our clothing and is neither a bleeding heart treatment of the subject nor an excuse to consume without a consciousness. His thoughtful, realistic, and compelling treatment of the subject left me digging through my clothes and reminding me that my consumption does have a direct effect on the lives of those we are not likely to ever meet.

Mike Yankoski, author of Under the Overpass, and I were discussing the need for just such a book this past summer and Timmerman’s work was resource we were looking for.

Check it out and let us know what you think.