Join Jacob for the Foodbank

Exercise and healthy eating go hand in hand, but combining triathlons and food banks take it to a whole new level. That’s the young life of 12-year-old Jacob Mansbach, an extremely active 7th grader at Santa Barbara Middle School who has biked, swam, and run in triathlons for the past five years while raising money and awareness for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

It started in 2012 when Jacob, then 8 years old, and his dad, Mike, decided to do the Santa Barbara Triathlon together for fun. But it became much more meaningful once his mom, Jennifer, took Jacob to the Foodbank, the beneficiary of that year’s race. “It just clicked for him,” she said. “When you go and see the food and how much needs to be sorted and packaged … it meant a lot.”

Jacob had a great time sorting beans that first day but also learned about the needs of others. “When you or I feel hungry, we can just go and get food,” said Jacob. “A lot of [these kids] can’t go and have that; they don’t have a choice. One in five kids live in hunger in Santa Barbara. It was originally at one in four, so it’s gotten better. I’d like to think it was me,” he added with a smile, “but I doubt it.”