This week, September 18-24, is National Diaper Need Awareness Week. Nationally, diapers cost an average of $100 per month, per child . To get an idea of the need for nappies in Santa Barbara County — which had one of the highest poverty rates in California in 2021 — one need look no further than community childcare services.
Central Coast nonprofit LEAP, formerly known as Isla Vista Youth Projects, knows that need well: After establishing Santa Barbara County’s first and only diaper bank in 2021, the organization now goes through 5,000-7,000 diapers every month for more than 200 children. That’s about $1,400 worth of pull-ups.
“And it's continuing to go up,” said Lori Goodman, LEAP’s executive director. “We give packs of 20 diapers for each child, twice a month.”