By Jorge Mercado Wednesday, April 16th, 2025

For the longest time, Erik Talkin, the CEO of the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County, thought ending hunger was as simple as just giving people more food.

“But just giving people more food does not end hunger… hunger is complicated, hunger is hard because being poor is hard,” Talkin said in a 2019 TedX Talk.

Six years later, Talkin was spreading the same message about the importance of food literacy in order to combat food insecurity at Apeel’s headquarters in Goleta during a talk with Apeel Senior Vice President of Operations, Jenny Du.

During the April 15 talk, Talkin explained the food bank’s operation, which is spread throughout the entirety of Santa Barbara County. The nonprofit has a warehouse in Santa Maria and one in Santa Barbara as well.

The food bank distributes around 11 million pounds of food per year around the county, over half of which is fresh produce.

“The food bank is literally just like a bank, but for food. We want people to donate food, and help people who need food,” he said.

Talkin added that there are a slew of educational programs that “we are really excited about.”

These include a free, community-based education series presenting evidence-based nutrition and food information as well as programs that nurture and encourage the development of a positive relationship with food.

Talkin also noted how Apeel and the food bank are “in the longevity business for produce.”

He mentioned how the nonprofit works with a program called Farm to Family, in which food banks around the state join together, hire produce solicitors and buy the seconds, or what growers call the produce that doesn’t meet the first standard of quality or appearance.

“In California, the seconds are more beautiful than anywhere else, so we have seen amazing produce that we’re able to buy for pennies on the dollar,” Talkin said, adding that the food is then refrigerated until it reaches its destination, allowing it to stay fresher for longer.

“We made the decision over 10 to 15 years ago to stop giving out either candy or soda and focusing purely on healthy food and fresh produce and that has really made a huge difference.”

Talkin also spoke about the expected federal cuts that could be coming for the nonprofit and the impact they will have.

“We have seen significant cuts to the food that we get that comes from the federal government through the USDA, and we’re looking at a potential dollar value of about up to $5 million of food that will go away from this county, so that’s a significant amount,” he said.

Most of the money raised by the food bank is through the local community, however, and hopefully the community keeps stepping up in this time of need, Talkin said.

“Hunger is perceived as a local problem and people want to help people in their area,” he said.

Asked about whether the food bank prefers a cash donation or a food donation, Talkin said the $1 donated to them actually has more buying power, because “it enables us to do far, far more than somebody paying grocery store prices.”

He did not discount people donating food, but did add that “the number one rule is do not donate something you wouldn’t eat yourself.”

“Simple, healthy foods are preferred,” he said.

He also noted how people who experience homelessness could struggle to cook some of the food given their lack of access to utilities.

“We’re always educating people who work with us that giving a bag of food to an unhoused person is not always great. They need certain things that are easy for them to eat,” Talkin said.

The food bank services over 200,000 people in Santa Barbara County, about 1/3 of the whole population. Talkin noted how there is still a stigma for many people in the county who are probably experiencing some form of food insecurity but feel they are not allowed to ask for or receive help.

“There is that invisible hunger and reluctance to talk about it and that is a really key feature of everything,” he said.

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