Café Picasso, a collaborative effort by St. Michael's Episcopal Church and UCSB IDEAS (Improving Dreams, Equality, Access, and Success)
The Café welcomes all students who find it difficult to eat a full meal on a regular basis to come to our Sunday dinners where they can enjoy a healthy home cooked meal. Students are free to use our Food Pantry throughout the week and take available items home. While the Café is open to all UCSB/SBCC students please be considerate for the needs of others and only take what you need.
If you are interested in volunteering to cook a meal, making contributions, or if you have any questions, comments, concerns, and ideas to share, please do not hesitate to contact the Café Picasso Interns:
Gloria Campos: 323.371.0983/ [email protected]
Nathalie Vera: 818.799.8136/ [email protected]
Mission and Founding:
Café Picasso is a food pantry and safe space for University students that opened in early January of this year. In addition to providing weekly dinners, the Café offers students a space to reflect and de-stress from the many obstacles they face. The Cafe takes after UCLA’s “580-Café”, a collaboration between St. Albans and UCLA IDEAS that provides students in need with healthy meals and a safe haven to share common experiences and struggles. At UCSB, many students must defer enrollment in the University and often enroll at Santa Barbara City College while they earn enough money for another quarter’s tuition at UCSB. Due to their deferred enrollment from UCSB, these students are ineligible for the services provided by the on campus AS Food Bank. St. Michael's Episcopal Church and UCSB IDEAS (a support/advocacy group for undocumented students) opened CP in response to the growing number of students who find themselves having to choose between eating a full meal and paying for their studies.
Café Picasso provides a special place of comfort for students who must balance long hours of work and studying, raise funds to afford their college tuition, remain active in their communities, and find it difficult to access a full meal on a regular basis. The Café serves as a space free of judgement or pity, a place to study and share personal experiences, and an overall home away from home for these students. <3
Please come by :D!
