One goal that we had here at Gold Coast for 2018 was to be more involved with our community. We knew we wanted to get involved locally but we also wanted to help the next generation of veggie lovers. We wanted to include youth programs when we got behind any local projects. This year we teamed up with the Santa Maria Valley YMCA and Local 4-H groups.

As we joined up with new groups, we wanted to make sure to keep our long-standing relationship with the Santa Barbara County Foodbank intact. Our company makes several donations to our local Foodbank each year. In May we were honored with a Gratitude Award from the Foodbank. Gold Coast was given the award for donating more than 30,000 pounds of fresh produce. It is our goal to continue donating to our local Foodbank and helping the hundreds of families the Foodbank serves.

Summertime means fair time and that means the local 4-H and FFA clubs are busy prepping their animals for show. In June we were visited by a group of 4-H kids, they presented their projects in hopes that we would support them during the Santa Barbara County Fair and live auction. It was great to meet this group of talented kids and see what the next generation of farmers looks like.

During the summer we joined forces with the Santa Maria Valley YMCA. Karl and Crystal stopped by the Y during Cooking Camp week.  Our team taught the campers how to make Grilled Cheese Sandwiches but with a carb alternative… Cauliflower! What better way to get kids excited about vegetables and cooking then showing them some healthy options? The campers were quizzed on vegetable facts and shown cooking videos featuring our favorite veggies. Then we all rolled up our sleeves and made Cauliflower Grilled Cheese. Those that weren’t fans of the white cruciferous veggie were soon won over by the bread-free sandwich.

In mid-November we ventured back to the Santa Maria Valley YMCA this time to hang out with the preschoolers. This tiny bunch was so much fun.  The little ones shared their favorite veggies as well as their least favorite. We whipped up a batch of Cauliflower Mash for the Y’s Thanksgiving Feast and each preschooler made their own serving of the mash to eat during snack time. During the feast each child got to share the recipe with their families. This will now be a Fall tradition with the YMCA Preschool!

Here at Gold Coast we believe that children should be taught to love vegetables early on in life and if we can help, we will be doing more projects like these in the coming year. We are already working with local organizations on new ways to elevate our community in 2019.