The City of Lompoc is leasing farmland to grow produce for homeless shelters across Santa Barbara County; it’s part of a three-phase project to address homelessness.
Bridge House Homeless Shelter is a 90-bed facility in Lompoc under the nonprofit Good Samaritan Shelter.
Santa Barbara County has approved a lease agreement which grants Good Samaritan Shelter access to the entire property; this means they’re now able to use the farmland to grow produce.
Sylvia Barnard, the shelter’s executive director, said the goal is to supply fresh fruits and vegetables for all 800 of their beds for unhoused people.
“The positive impacts that we see are definitely increasing the nutritional value of the food that we provide for the clients that we serve,” Barnard said.
The Bridge House Farm project is a partnership between Santa Barbara County and the City of Lompoc.
In a couple weeks, Good Samaritan will kick off phase 2 of the project to introduce job training at the farm to help shelter residents learn more about agriculture.
“It will also have a mental health aspect where it can be therapeutic– being able to have the discipline of showing up for work and having the pride of being able to grow something and really have a purpose,” Barnard said.
The shelter then plans to implement culinary training programs in two of their commercial kitchens; the first one will be launched at their Santa Maria location.
“We have just hired a chef, who will be the culinary training manager at that location, who will provide job training and hands-on training for individuals residing on the Santa Maria shelter campus,” Barnard said.
The second culinary training program will be held at the kitchen being built in their Hedges for Hope shelter in Goleta. It’s expected to be completed at the end of December.
Barnard said the final phase of the project will be sending food trucks across the County, which could provide more job opportunities for graduates of the culinary training program.
She hopes that the Bridge House Farm project will bring lasting changes for unhoused people throughout Santa Barbara County.
“The farm providing food security and food opportunities is really a game changer for the homeless system as we know it now,” Barnard said.
For more about the Bridge House Farm project, you can visit goodsamaritanshelter.org.
