Our Hero ’s are many but we especially pay tribute to our low-income
clients who struggle daily to make ends meet so they can take care of
their children and obligations.

Anita had the courage to tell us:

“I know you mean well but do you realize how hard it is to work two jobs and sometimes still not have enough money to properly feed your children? I’m a college graduate! I never thought I’d have to ask for help but I found myself in trouble when my son broke his leg. I used my food budget to pay the doctor and I knew if I spent the rent money, I’d lose my apartment. I went to so many places and they all gave me bags of food but not the things I needed! Isn’t there somewhere that we can go that provides the services we need instead of making us run all over town looking for nutritional food for our children? If you really want to help, someone needs to find a better way of distributing food.”

69% of those served are working while making less than $1,300.00 a month!

Our Goal:

To keep families strong while giving parents the opportunity to work toward self-sufficiency.This helps parents maintain the respect of their children so they can avoid many problems that they might face if their children cannot rely on them to take care of their basic needs.

Supplementing limited incomes with needed food, clothing and basic neccessities help families avoid welfare dependency and homelessness. When times are difficult they can use the funds saved to pay their rent.

The Unity Shoppe is the largest single direct distributor of food and clothing in the County of Santa Barbara.

Jimmy was in trouble!

He came from a good family. The Probation Department sent him to do community service work instead of jail time. He was barely 17. He was angry but settled in to help people not as fortunate as he. 40 hours later, he completed his time but continued to help us after school. A very grateful mother called: “Jimmy seems different, she said. He now appreciates what he has. He told me the Unity Shoppe gave him a special gift. It’s a gift you give yourself when you help someone else! I wanted you to know I am happy to have my son back!”