Be Healthy • Be Connected • Be Rooted

Rooted Santa Barbara County

We’re Rooting For You!

Rooted Santa Barbara County is a community-powered nonprofit transforming health through fiber-forward nutrition and lifestyle-based approaches to preventing and improving chronic disease.

Our Eat to Thrive Education programs provide practical, inclusive, and culturally relevant support, respectful of every journey and starting point. We help individuals, families, and care teams access and enjoy fiber-rich, plant-forward foods, and bring food into both prevention and treatment plans— at home, in clinics, and in the community.

We focus on neighbors facing the greatest barriers to good health and the direct service teams that support them, equipping our community with the tools, skills, and encouragement to eat well, feel better, and live longer, healthier lives.

We’re here to cheer you on, every bite of the way.

Healthy food is healthcare—and everyone deserves a seat at the table.

Support Our Work

At Our Core

We’re shifting healthcare’s focus from treatment to prevention by equipping our community with accessible, bilingual nutrition education, food skills-building support, healthcare training and trusted partnerships rooted in science and lived experience.

Because every person deserves the opportunity and tools to thrive—honoring their background, income, or starting point.

When we center equity, health becomes a shared reality—not a privilege.

We provide low- to no-cost programs that help individuals and families take charge of their health with food. And we support healthcare and direct service professionals with training and resources to integrate nutrition and lifestyle medicine as a priority in care.

We’re a stronger community when we’re all healthy!

Our Mission

We equip our community to prevent and address chronic disease through food literacy programs that put food as medicine into practice, honoring personal wisdom and cultural wealth so our whole community can eat to thrive.

Find your next step with our programs and community tools→

Jumpstart Library Program Volunteers give one antoher high fives

The Root of the Problem – and the Solution

Nearly 30% of households face food and healthcare insecurity.
70% of leading causes of death are linked to chronic diseases that could be prevented or improved with a focus on nutrition and lifestyle.
97% of us don’t get enough fiber—yet it’s one of the most powerful tools we have for heart, gut, metabolic health, and more.
80% of chronic illness can be largely prevented or improved with nutrition and lifestyle support.
Most healthcare providers receive less than 1% of training in nutrition.

Without access to preventive care, many families face a cycle where poor health limits economic opportunity, and economic hardship exacerbates poor health. Rooted’s work interrupts this cycle.

We’re bridging the gap and breaking down barriers—helping families and healthcare teams use food and lifestyle as powerful tools for healing and prevention.

How We Work

Rooted breaks down systemic barriers to better health by:

Delivering bilingual, community-centered nutrition education
Partnering with healthcare and service providers to integrate nutrition and lifestyle tools into care
Uplifting cultural knowledge, food traditions, and lived experience
Focusing on communities disproportionately affected by chronic disease, especially low-income and Hispanic/Latine families and the healthcare and direct service teams that serve them

Health Equity Starts With Access

When nutritious food, practical education, and supportive care are out of reach, health suffers. We’re changing that by:

Prioritizing fiber-rich, plant-forward foods, making them accessible, enjoyable, and part of everyday life while honoring our community’s diverse food traditions
Training providers in nutrition, lifestyle and food-as-medicine care—addressing a critical gap in medical education so every patient has access to prevention-focused and nutrition-based options as part of their care
Collaborating across sectors to create a resilient, community-rooted model of prevention that uplifts cultural strengths and supports everyone

Read more on our Invest in Community Health page →