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Help for Foodbank
COVID’s impact on mental health
Santa Barbara County nonprofit receives $20,000 in grant funding
Pandemic leads to more anxiety in SB County By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The social distancing, stay-at-home orders and isolation that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic not only disrupted daily life, they also increased the amount of anxiety and depression felt by many individuals. During the pandemic, four in 10 adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to a Household Pulse Survey completed by the U.S. Census Bureau. This marks a stark shift from data the first half Please see HEALTH on A2
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The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is receiving $20,000 in grant funding from Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, which will help to continue their pandemic emergency response efforts.
By MADISON HIRNEISEN
Chauvin sentenced to 22.5 years
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County has been selected to receive $20,000 in grant funding from the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation. The funding will support the Foodbank’s ongoing emergency response and services to those hit hardest economically by the pandemic. Over the past 15 months, the staff at the Foodbank has been working tirelessly to serve those in need during the pandemic, doling out double the amount of food this past year compared to prior years. The organization also added Saturdays as a food distribution day during the pandemic to serve those who could not make it to the Foodbank on weekdays. “(The grant) assists in our objective of trying to deal with the economic tail of the COVID disaster,” Foodbank CEO Erik Talkin told the News-Press. “There’s a general feeling that things are returning to normal, but often, even if people are re-employed, they have considerable debt as a result of the last 18 months.” He continued, “We project it will take another 18 to 24 months for people to get back financially to where they were. So that means people will need extra food help to rebuild and get back to their financial situation.” The Foodbank is one of 22 food banks across the state slated to receive funding from Delta Dental. The grant funding ranges from $20,000 to $250,000, totalling $1.5 million in grants from the foundation. “The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation is committed to building healthier, more resilient communities across California, and access to healthy food is crucial to that effort,”
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Kenzie Ferguson, the vice president of the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, said in a statement to the News-Press. “Food insecurity rates in Santa Barbara County are staggering — with the Santa Barbara Foundation estimating they’re as high as 10%. We wanted to support the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County as it helps families recover from the economic
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effects of the pandemic.” This is the second time the Foodbank has received a grant from the Delta Dental foundation. The foundation also gave money to the Foodbank last winter to continue supporting its distribution efforts during the holiday season. Lauren Coiro, the grants manager for the Foodbank, told the News-Press
email: mhirneisen@newspress.com
email: mhirneisen@newspress.com
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that she is “tremendously grateful” for the support of Delta Dental and very appreciative to receive another grant from the foundation. “We’re very grateful for the relationship with Delta Dental and we’re hoping we can continue it in the future,” Ms. Coiro said.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on Friday for the murder of George Floyd. In April, Mr. Chauvin was found guilty on three counts — second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — after the former officer knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck during an arrest in May 2020. Under Minnesota law, Mr. Chauvin will be required to serve two-thirds of his sentence, which equates to about 15 years. He will then be eligible for supervised release for the remainder of his sentence. Presiding Judge Peter Cahill said Mr. Chauvin’s case warranted a harsher sentence because he “abused his position of trust or authority” and treated Mr. Floyd “with particular cruelty.” The judge added that Mr. Chauvin “remained indifferent to Mr. Floyd’s pleas even as Mr. Floyd was begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was going to die.” “Mr. Chauvin’s prolonged restraint of Mr. Floyd was also much longer and more painful than the typical scenario in a second-degree or third-degree murder or second-degree manslaughter case,” Mr. Cahill wrote in a 22page memorandum. During the sentencing, members of Mr. Floyd’s family delivered multiple victim impact statements, including his 7-year-old daughter Gianna. Terrance Floyd, one of Mr. Floyd’s brothers, asked the judge to issue the maximum sentence. Mr. Chauvin also spoke during the sentencing, offering condolences to the Floyd family.
During the pandemic, the Foodbank distributed twice as much food as usual.
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“I do think there’s optimism that we are getting to the end of the pandemic and the restrictions that the pandemic brought with it,” said Dr. Paul Erickson, the medical director and chair of psychiatry and chemical dependency services at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. “And I think overall that’s going to be positive for people’s mental health.”
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