Santa Barbara County · Food Rescue & Community Distribution
Donations
Deliveries
Community Impact
Distribution efficiency reached 97.7% — nearly all food donated was redistributed to community partners within the month, with the small gap consistent with normal pipeline timing.
Babe Warehouse and SYSCO together contributed 54.3% of all donations (40,469 lbs). Babe Warehouse's total includes a single 10,200 lb one-off transaction on June 30 — excluding it, concentration is 40.6%.
Fresh produce (Produce + Packaged Produce) accounted for 68.0% of donations and 66.1% of deliveries — a nutritionally strong ratio for the month.
Delivery volume was closely spread across all four corridors this month — Lompoc (22.9%), Santa Maria/Orcutt (22.8%), Santa Ynez Valley (21.1%), and Santa Barbara/Goleta (18.9%) — a more even distribution than recent months.
Olga and Kevin together handled 87.7% of delivery pounds. Olga's average load (662 lbs/delivery) is nearly double Kevin's (340 lbs/delivery), reflecting her heavier-vehicle, SYSCO-focused route.
Shepherd Giving Farm contributed 5,238 lbs across 8 pickups in its first month as a formally tracked donor partner — debuting as our #5 donor by volume.
| # | Donor | Region / Source | Volume (lbs) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Babe Warehouse | Santa Maria | 24,619 | |
| 2 | SYSCO | Oxnard | 15,850 | |
| 3 | Chavez Family Farm | Santa Barbara | 6,378 | |
| 4 | Trader Joe's – De La Vina | Santa Barbara | 5,381 | |
| 5 | Shepherd Giving Farm | Lompoc | 5,238 | |
| 6 | Tutti Frutti Farms | Santa Ynez | 2,801 | |
| 7 | Hollandia Produce | Carpinteria | 2,312 | |
| 8 | Los Olivos Café Farm | Santa Ynez | 1,395 | |
| 9 | Bucket Brigade Yankee Farm | Santa Barbara | 1,267 | |
| 10 | Ralphs | Santa Barbara | 936 |
Cross-referencing June donation activity against the Veggie Rescue CRM Donors sheet surfaced the following for reconciliation:
| # | Recipient Organization | Service Region | Volume (lbs) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food Forward | Los Angeles | 10,200 | |
| 2 | Catholic Charities FP – Santa Maria | Santa Maria | 9,574 | |
| 3 | BSC – Buellton Senior Center | Santa Ynez | 9,182 | |
| 4 | Micah Mission | Lompoc | 5,392 | |
| 5 | Catholic Charities FP – Lompoc | Lompoc | 4,932 | |
| 6 | Casa de la Raza | Santa Barbara | 4,678 | |
| 7 | Salvation Army – Santa Maria | Santa Maria | 4,311 | |
| 8 | Bethania Lutheran Church | Santa Ynez | 3,146 | |
| 9 | People Helping People | Santa Ynez | 3,039 | |
| 10 | Friendship Manor | Santa Barbara | 3,022 |
At 4.2 lbs CO₂ prevented per pound of food delivered, June's 72,930 lbs redirected 153.2 metric tons of greenhouse gas equivalent away from landfill decomposition pathways.
Over 48,224 lbs of fresh produce (including packaged produce) reached community kitchens and food pantries this month — 66.1% of all deliveries.
Using the 1.2 lbs/meal standard, June's deliveries supported an estimated 60,775 individual meals — roughly 2,026 meals per day across all service corridors.
31 distinct nonprofit organizations received food this month — senior centers, food pantries, churches, and shelters — covering all four Santa Barbara County service corridors plus one out-of-region partnership delivery.
Babe Warehouse (33.0%) and SYSCO (21.2%) together contributed 54.3% of all donated pounds this month. Babe Warehouse's share includes a single 10,200 lb one-off transaction on June 30; excluding it, top-two concentration is still 40.6%. This level of dependency on two sources warrants continued diversification effort.
June's distribution efficiency of 97.7% reflects strong operational throughput — nearly all donated food reached community partners within the month. This metric continues to demonstrate the team's logistical execution and recipient network capacity.
June's delivery distribution across the four core corridors was the most balanced in recent months — Lompoc (22.9%), Santa Maria/Orcutt (22.8%), Santa Ynez Valley (21.1%), and Santa Barbara/Goleta (18.9%), a much tighter spread than prior months' single-corridor concentration.
Olga and Kevin together handled 87.7% of delivery pounds. Kevin logged more individual events (92 pickups, 63 deliveries) than Olga (75 pickups, 59 deliveries), but Olga's average load per stop is nearly double Kevin's, driven by her SYSCO and larger-vehicle routes. This concentration creates operational fragility if Olga is unavailable.
June's fresh food ratio (produce + packaged produce) of 68.0% on donations and 66.1% on deliveries is a strong outcome for nutritional equity, well above typical packaged-goods-heavy months. This metric is compelling for grant narratives around food security and nutrition access.
Shepherd Giving Farm's first full month as a tracked donor delivered 5,238 lbs across 8 pickups from the Lompoc corridor, landing immediately as VR's #5 donor by volume. This is a strong start for a newly formalized partnership.