Apply for Funds for Pandemic Relief
The County of San Luis Obispo Public Health Department is taking applications to fund projects that address public health impacts or worsening metrics brought about by the COVID-19 public health emergency in the county.
A total of up to $5.9 million is available for up to 12 projects. This one-time funding is provided by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Non-profits, government agencies, businesses, or coalitions are eligible to apply. The deadline to apply is June 30 at 11:59 p.m.
Projects must address one or more of the
following areas in project proposals:
• Access to Care: SLO County has long faced healthcare workforce challenges and disparities in access to care. The pandemic has made these challenges even more extreme. Building a robust healthcare workforce and ensuring equitable access to care will be key to a healthy future for our community.
• Mental Health & Substance Abuse: The pandemic and related social isolation exacerbated mental health and substance abuse problems that were already on the rise for many populations in the years prior to the pandemic. Addressing these complex challenges will be key to building individual and communitywide foundations for long-term health.
• Food Access: Many households struggled to meet their basic needs during the pandemic, including access to healthy food. Addressing this need will be key to a robust and complete recovery as a community.
• Healthy Aging: Seniors worldwide, including in SLO County, have faced a disproportionate burden of both the physical and emotional impacts of the pandemic and the related grief and social isolation. Alleviating those physical and emotional burdens can increase the quality and length of seniors’ lives.
For more information and to apply, go to SLOCounty.ca.gov/PublicHealthARPA.
Poly Dining Wins Award
College foodservices often get a bad rap, but Cal Poly recently took honors for appealing to all.
The National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) has recognized Cal Poly Campus Dining’s Vista Grande Dining Complex as a silver tier recipient of the 2021 Loyal E. Horton Dining Award for Retail Sales – Single Concept/Multiple Concepts/Marketplace. Now, that’s a mouthful.
“Vista Grande was designed to create an environment of community with menus that appeal to all tastes and dietary needs, and it’s an honor to be recognized for that,” said Andrea Burns, Cal Poly Corporation’s associate executive director, commercial services. “It’s great to be acknowledged for the uniqueness of Vista Grande, with its focus on sustainability, nutrition and amazing food, as well as its success and impact on campus.”
The Retail Sales category recognizes outstanding retail locations on campus that have innovative features and techniques. Vista Grande was designed to be flexible to the ever-changing palate of guests who visit the complex multiple times a day. Each restaurant features a rotating menu of seasonal dishes reflecting the latest culinary concepts, including international street food, global noodle dishes and fresh, locally sourced desserts.
This is the first NACUFS award Cal Poly Campus Dining has earned outside the Catering and Nutrition categories. Campus Dining earned the Grand Prize for its Online Catering Menu in 2020.
The NACUFS awards celebrate exemplary retail spaces, menus, presentations, special event planning and new dining concepts, and provides an avenue for sharing ideas and creative presentations in campus dining services.
All winners are listed online at: https://www.nacufs.org/Awards/LoyalEHortonDiningAwards.
Expo at the Expo
The Expo at the Expo San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce event was a huge success.
People streamed into the Alex Madonna Expo Center to mingle with business owners, network, find out about new services in the area and simply have fun with tasty treats, drinks, and games.
The theme this year was “Big Top Expo,” and the Chamber says more than 2,000 people attended the show, the first since 2019. Photo by Dean Sullivan
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