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.”