Santa Barbara County · Food Rescue & Community Distribution
Donations
Deliveries
Community Impact
Distribution efficiency landed at 99.8% — 59,360 lbs delivered against 59,486 lbs donated, a near-perfect match with no meaningful carryover either direction.
Donations fell 28.1% (82,688 → 59,486 lbs) and deliveries fell 31.2% (86,291 → 59,360 lbs) month-over-month. Worth flagging to the board as a volume dip to watch, not an operational breakdown, since efficiency held steady.
SYSCO and Babe Warehouse together contributed 44.0% of all donations (26,171 lbs), down from 50.4% in July, a healthier spread even as overall volume declined.
Delivery volume again leaned toward Santa Maria/Orcutt (33.5%), with Lompoc (26.7%), Santa Barbara/Goleta (20.4%), and Santa Ynez Valley (19.4%) trailing, continuing July's pattern.
Olga and Kevin together handled 96.8% of delivery pounds. Olga's average load (555 lbs/delivery) remains well above Kevin's (399 lbs/delivery), continuing July's pattern.
Shepherd Giving Farm contributed 6,395 lbs across 9 pickups, essentially flat versus July's 6,564 lbs/10 pickups, and remains our #4 donor by volume for a second straight month.
| # | Donor | Region / Source | Volume (lbs) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SYSCO | Oxnard | 16,951 | |
| 2 | Babe Warehouse | Santa Maria | 9,220 | |
| 3 | Trader Joe's – De La Vina | Santa Barbara | 6,520 | |
| 4 | Shepherd Giving Farm | Lompoc | 6,395 | |
| 5 | Tutti Frutti Farms | Santa Ynez | 4,201 | |
| 6 | Hollandia Produce | Santa Barbara | 1,470 | |
| 7 | Ralphs | Santa Barbara | 1,457 | |
| 8 | Bob's Well Bread – Los Alamos | Santa Ynez | 936 | |
| 9 | Rincon Hills Farm | Carpinteria | 869 | |
| 10 | Organic Soup Kitchen | Santa Barbara | 832 |
| # | Recipient Organization | Service Region | Volume (lbs) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catholic Charities FP – Santa Maria | Santa Maria | 16,315 | |
| 2 | BSC – Buellton Senior Center | Santa Ynez | 7,603 | |
| 3 | Casa de la Raza | Santa Barbara | 5,552 | |
| 4 | Catholic Charities FP – Lompoc | Lompoc | 5,189 | |
| 5 | Violet Sage Walker Goats | Lompoc | 4,395 | |
| 6 | Bridge House | Lompoc | 2,884 | |
| 7 | Guadalupe Senior Center | Santa Maria | 2,600 | |
| 8 | People Helping People | Santa Ynez | 2,020 | |
| 9 | Mia Dawallo | Lompoc | 1,700 | |
| 10 | Friendship Manor | Santa Barbara | 1,556 |
At 4.2 lbs CO₂ prevented per pound of food delivered, August's 59,360 lbs redirected 124.7 metric tons of greenhouse gas equivalent away from landfill decomposition pathways.
30,541 lbs of fresh produce (including packaged produce) reached community kitchens and food pantries this month, 51.4% of all deliveries, down from 71.2% in July.
Using the 1.2 lbs/meal standard, August's deliveries supported an estimated 49,467 individual meals, roughly 1,596 meals per day across all service corridors.
At $1.73/lb, August's deliveries represent an estimated $102,693 in food value returned to the community.
29 distinct nonprofit organizations received food this month: senior centers, food pantries, churches, and shelters, covering all four Santa Barbara County service corridors with no out-of-region deliveries.
Donations fell 28.1% and deliveries fell 31.2% versus July. This isn't purely a July high-water mark either: August 2026 donations (59,486 lbs) are also down 13.2% versus August 2025 (68,566 lbs), and deliveries are down 16.5% versus August 2025 (71,082 lbs). Distribution efficiency held steady, so this reads as a volume story, not an operational one.
Fresh food (produce + packaged produce) fell to 51.8% of donations and 51.4% of deliveries, down sharply from July's 69.6%/71.2%. With overall volume down too, packaged goods from SYSCO, Babe Warehouse, and Trader Joe's made up a larger share of a smaller pool this month.
SYSCO (28.5%) and Babe Warehouse (15.5%) together contributed 44.0% of donations, down from 50.4% in July. Even with lower overall volume, the donor base is modestly more diversified this month.
Delivery volume again concentrated in Santa Maria/Orcutt (33.5%), with Santa Ynez Valley trailing at 19.4%, a similar spread to July's 35.4%/16.3% split. Two months running now with Santa Maria/Orcutt as the clear lead corridor.
SGF contributed 6,395 lbs across 9 pickups, essentially flat versus July's 6,564 lbs/10 pickups, holding steady at 10.8% of total donations and remaining our #4 donor by volume for a second straight month.