In the April issue:

• Grantee of the Month: Good Samaritan Good Samwich Food Truck
• Let’s Celebrate Another Year of Changing Lives!
• Women’s Fund Launches Small Grants Pilot Program
• Membership Corner: Learn More About Our Village!

We have all heard the adage: “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” No better example of its application can be found than the Good Samwich Food Truck, underwritten by a $150,000 grant from the Women’s Fund to Good Samaritan Shelter.

The Good Samwich Food Truck debuted on March 10 at the Santa Barbara Mission with a ribbon cutting, multiple speeches, and a blessing from Franciscan Friar Larry Gosselin. Nick Welsh of The Independent followed up the next day with a laudatory article describing the event, the plans for the truck by its parent organization, Good Samaritan Shelter, and the work of the Women’s Fund.

Welch’s article credited what Father Larry called “the creative compassion” of the Santa Barbara community in making the food truck a reality. In his comments, Welch also said the Women’s Fund “has a long history of punching way beyond its weight with strategically targeted, small-ball philanthropy.”

Good Samaritan Founder Sylvia Barnard (center) and friends at the Good Samwich food truck ribbon cutting.

Good Samaritan Shelter is the largest homeless service provider on the Central Coast. Established in 1987, their facilities now serve more than 4,000 people in more than 40 locations. With 800 beds for emergency and transitional housing, Good Samaritan programs include wraparound services, mental health support, substance abuse disorder treatment, and housing navigation. The food truck grew out of the 2024 Food for Good program, which the founder and leader of Good Samaritan, Sylvia Barnard, describes as a “bold new initiative built around the idea that access to healthy food and meaningful work can truly change lives.”

In her speech at the launch, Board Chair Carolyn Jabs expressed pride in the initiative, stating, “It's a real privilege to represent the Women’s Fund at the launch of the Good Samwich Food Truck,” highlighting the significance of collective giving in making such impactful grants possible. She continued, “...our members look for transformative projects that meet critical needs for vulnerable people in south Santa Barbara County.” As Welch described it, the organization is “famous for the leave-no-stone-unturned thoroughness of its vetting process” and ability to “smell the difference between do-gooders with good intentions and those who can get things done.”

The food truck leverages the new Food4Good commercial kitchen.

The food truck leverages other Good Samaritan efforts to address homelessness, including its community farm in Lompoc, and its new commercial kitchen and culinary training program at Hedges House of Hope shelter in Isla Vista. Barnard believes that the Food for Good program provides “more than a training program – it’s a path to stability, purpose, and independence.”

The 18-foot Good Samwich Food Truck includes an electrically powered industrial scale kitchen with fryer, griddle, salad/sandwich table, refrigerator, and stove. The organization anticipates that food sales will generate the revenue needed to cover gas, insurance, maintenance, supplies, and professional staff assistance. In its first year, the agency expects that the Food Truck will generate $250,000 in gross receipts, with anticipated net revenue to Good Samaritan of $25,000.

Under the direction of Executive Chef Don Hardin, who has years of catering experience, trainees and graduates prepare soups, salads, and “good samwiches.” On the day of its “christening” at the Mission, the menu included turkey sandwiches with cranberry mayonnaise, tropical coleslaw, and quinoa arugula salad.

Thirty-five homeless culinary trainees will work with 20 program graduates to prepare and serve what are expected to be upwards of 14,000 meals annually from the Good Samwich Food Truck. Currently, the food truck will be serving its healthy lunch-time meals near a county government building on Calle Real, chosen strategically because there are few places to eat near there.

Graduates who work at the food truck earn income and benefits, get on-the-job training, and develop their resumes and occupational references, all of which can be used to secure employment. A record of income also allows participants to qualify for subsidized housing in the County.

In her May 2025 Celebration of Grants comments, Barnard called the Good Samwich Food Truck “more than a vehicle. It’s a vehicle for change,” and expressed gratitude to the Women’s Fund with these moving words: “Thank you for believing in the power of second chances, for standing with us in the fight against homelessness, and for helping us make food a force for good.”

• Submitted by Margaret Crocco

Please join us for the Celebration of Grants. Be there for the big reveal: which grantees were selected for a grant from our 2026 ballot? Join us and find out and help celebrate our 22^nd year of changing lives together!

Members, this is a great opportunity to bring a prospective member and help them discover more about the Women’s Fund! Not yet a member and want to learn more? We’d love to have you join, too.

Members, register here by April  29; the fee is $35, payable online. And members, register your guest here – they are welcome at no cost.

Where: Lobero Theatre
33 East Canon Perdido
Santa Barbara

When: Wednesday, May 13

• Doors open at 4:15
• Program starts at 5:00
• Reception follows at 6:15

For the first time, the Women’s Fund will be providing small grants to small non-profit agencies in south Santa Barbara County. Eligible non-profit agencies are those that align with our mission of addressing the needs of women, children, and families, and that focus on at least one of our nine identified community needs.  

Since 2004, our traditional grants of $50,000 or more have had a major impact on Santa Barbara’s larger community agencies. Yet smaller, often newer agencies also serve important community needs, and the Women’s Fund small grants – $10,000  OR  $25,000 – will help support the mission of these agencies.  

In surveys conducted last year, our members expressed a desire to offer more flexible grants, and our research team, as well as community input, pointed to a need to support smaller agencies. The Women’s Fund board voted to proceed, created a committee to develop a small grants program plan, and set aside $100,000 for the pilot year.

South County 501(c)3 agencies that align with our mission and have annual revenues of up to $500,000 will be invited to apply between June 1 and 30, 2026. The grants will be unrestricted; if an agency is awarded the money, it can be used for any purpose that furthers its mission. The Small Grants Committee will review applications, verify eligibility, and create a ballot.  

In the fall, every Women’s Fund member who contributed in 2025 will be invited to vote on the agencies she would like to receive a small grant. There will be no group voting for small grants, and the voting will be limited to 2025 contributors, because their donations built the $100,000 small grants pool. In early November, we will announce the grantees of the Small Grants Pilot Program, and funds will be distributed in November.  

The grants will be awarded for a period of one year, after which the grantees will report on how the funds were used and how the agency and community benefitted from the grant.  

Women’s Fund members can continue to be proud that our pooled resources help improve the lives of people in our community.

The Celebration of Grants is nearly upon us, reminding us of the village it takes to make this giving circle thrive. It is no small feat to donate more than a million dollars to local organizations year after year. While we value our growth, we really value retaining our members, and we do this by fostering a warm and welcoming environment.

Thank you to our sponsors and underwriters whose generosity support our education programs and operations.
Learn more about them here.

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A tax-exempt nonprofit organization | Tax ID 82-5169678

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