Santa Barbara County · Food Rescue & Community Distribution
VR picked up 64,702 lbs from 40 donors across 145 pickups and delivered 63,625 lbs to 29 recipient organizations across 109 drop-offs. Donations rose 8.8% from August, deliveries rose 7.2%, and distribution efficiency held at 98.3%.
That's about 53,000 meals, or roughly 1,767 a day, and $110,071 in food value.
SYSCO carried more of the month than usual. It supplied 26,126 lbs, 40.4% of all donations, up from 28.5% in August. SYSCO plus Tutti Frutti came to 51.5%, back above the halfway mark the board has been watching.
Year over year, donations are down 7.3% and deliveries down 9.3%. SYSCO accounts for the entire donation decline, down 21.3% from September 2025. Everyone else grew 5.3% (36,634 to 38,576 lbs), and active donors went from 37 to 40.
Shepherd Giving Farm gave 2,920 lbs over 7 pickups, down 54% from August, with weekly pounds falling by more than half after mid-month. It looks like the end of the summer crop. Worth confirming with the farm before the Oct 25 Field & Table event.
Donations
Deliveries
Shepherd Giving Farm
Community impact (based on lbs delivered)
SYSCO supplied 26,126 lbs (40.4%), up from 28.5% in August. SYSCO plus Tutti Frutti came to 51.5% of donations, back above the 50% line.
Strip out SYSCO and donations grew from 36,634 lbs (Sep 2025) to 38,576 lbs, up 5.3%. Active donors went from 37 to 40.
Kevin logged the Sep 16 SYSCO pickup (3,326 lbs). That's the backup coverage August's dashboard asked for on a route Olga normally runs alone.
Santa Maria/Orcutt took 37.5% of delivered pounds, up from 33.5%. Lompoc fell from 26.7% to 17.6%. Third straight month Santa Maria leads.
Weekly SGF pounds: 945, 1,044, 485, 446, then nothing logged Sep 29–30. Average pickup dropped from 711 lbs to 417 lbs.
Fresh food was 45.7% of donations and 45.8% of deliveries, up from about 36% in September 2025. Down from August (51.8%) and the July peak of 69.6%, as expected after summer.
| # | Donor | Location logged | Pickups | Lbs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SYSCO | Oxnard | 5 | 26,126 | |
| 2 | Tutti Frutti Farms | Lompoc | 9 | 7,186 | |
| 3 | Babe Warehouse | Santa Maria | 6 | 5,818 | |
| 4 | Trader Joe's · De La Vina St., SB | Santa Barbara | 8 | 4,216 | |
| 5 | Shepherd Giving Farm | Lompoc | 7 | 2,920 | |
| 6 | Bucket Brigade Yankee Farm | Santa Barbara | 5 | 2,603 | |
| 7 | Hollandia Produce | Carpinteria | 6 | 2,398 | |
| 8 | The Garden Of… | Santa Ynez | 4 | 1,906 | |
| 9 | Rincon Hills Farm | Carpinteria | 4 | 1,641 | |
| 10 | Trader Joe's · Calle Real, Goleta | Santa Barbara | 1 | 1,350 |
| # | Recipient organization | Service region | Drop-offs | Lbs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catholic Charities Food Pantry · Santa Maria | Santa Maria | 12 | 17,459 | |
| 2 | BSC · Buellton Senior Center | Santa Ynez | 19 | 8,488 | |
| 3 | Casa de la Raza | Santa Barbara | 6 | 8,325 | |
| 4 | Guadalupe Senior Center | Santa Maria | 2 | 6,009 | |
| 5 | Catholic Charities Food Pantry · Lompoc | Lompoc | 8 | 4,755 | |
| 6 | Santa Barbara Rescue Mission | Santa Barbara | 11 | 3,303 | |
| 7 | Organic Soup Kitchen | Santa Barbara | 1 | 2,594 | |
| 8 | Friendship Manor | Santa Barbara | 5 | 2,343 | |
| 9 | Unity Shoppe · Lompoc | Lompoc | 4 | 1,864 | |
| 10 | Violet Sage Walker Goats | Lompoc | 1 | 1,500 |
| Date | Driver | Vehicle | Lbs | Produce recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Sep 3 | Olga | Ford Van | 945 | Not recorded |
| Fri, Sep 11 | Olga | 14-1 | 721 | Not recorded |
| Mon, Sep 14 | Kevin | 14 foot truck | 323 | Cucumbers, zucchini |
| Thu, Sep 17 | Kevin | 14 foot truck | 485 | Not recorded |
| Thu, Sep 24 | Olga | Ford Van | 164 | Not recorded |
| Mon, Sep 28 | Olga | 14-1 | 252 | Not recorded |
| Mon, Sep 28 | Other | Other | 30 | Not recorded |
Pickup count dropped from 9 to 7 and average load from 711 to 417 lbs. Both fell together, which usually means a smaller harvest.
SGF delivered in every week of September through Sep 28 and remains a top-5 donor. Four-month total: 21,117 lbs, roughly 17,600 meals' worth at 1.2 lbs per meal.
Tom Shepherd Farms (202 lbs, Santa Barbara/Goleta) and Max Iniguez / Shepherd Farms (70 lbs) are different farms and are excluded from every SGF figure here.
At 1.2 lbs per meal, September deliveries add up to about 53,021 meals, roughly 1,767 a day, and about 3,554 more than August.
4.2 lbs of CO₂ prevented per lb delivered comes to 267,225 lbs (133.6 tons). Same factor used since May 2025.
29,120 lbs of fresh and packaged produce reached recipients, about 970 lbs a day. Fresh share of deliveries was 45.8%, up from 36.4% in September 2025.
At $1.73 per lb, deliveries were worth about $110,071 to the pantries, senior centers and shelters that received them.
All 63,625 lbs stayed inside VR's four corridors. Santa Ynez Valley received the least (16.5%); BSC alone accounted for 81% of that corridor's pounds.
SYSCO gave 26,126 lbs vs. 33,195 in September 2025, down 21.3%. It still supplied 40.4% of donations, up from 28.5% in August, and SYSCO plus Tutti Frutti reached 51.5%. Both the concentration risk and the volume risk sit with one donor.
Donations outside SYSCO rose from 36,634 to 38,576 lbs. Active donors went from 37 to 40, and Carp Avos joined this month with 6 pickups (386 lbs of avocados, citrus and passionfruit). This is the board's diversification goal showing up in the numbers.
Kevin logged the Sep 16 SYSCO pickup (3,326 lbs on 14-1). Olga's five-day schedule and SYSCO route still put her at 63.1% of pickup pounds and 62.3% of delivery pounds, but the route now has a second driver who has done it.
David logged 18 pickups and 18 deliveries (4,500 and 4,690 lbs), up from 8 each in August. Those runs are program director hours not spent on donors, partners and systems. Olga and Kevin's combined delivery share fell from 96.8% to 92.3% because of it.
SGF fell to 2,920 lbs from 6,395, with weekly pounds down by more than half after mid-month and nothing logged after Sep 28. The Oct 25 donor event will put SGF in front of donors three weeks from now. The four-month total (21,117 lbs since June) is the stronger, accurate story to tell there.
Santa Maria/Orcutt received 37.5% of delivered pounds (Jul 35.4%, Aug 33.5%). Catholic Charities Santa Maria alone took 27.4%, including the 6,200 lb Sep 9 load. Lompoc fell from 26.7% to 17.6%; Santa Ynez Valley sits lowest at 16.5%.
Fresh food was 45.7% of donations and 45.8% of deliveries. That's down from August (about 51%) and July (about 70%), and still well above September 2025 (36.3% donations, 36.4% deliveries).
| Item | What we found | How it's handled here |
|---|---|---|
| New recipient | Momentum Works SM (80 lbs, Sep 23) logged as "Other/Not Listed" | Counted as a recipient. Add to Jotform list and CRM Recipents sheet |
| Region labels | 1 BSC row logged as Lompoc; 1 Catholic Charities Lompoc row logged as Santa Barbara/Goleta | Corrected to the recipient's home corridor in region charts |
| Compost | 20 lbs delivered to "Compost" (Sep 27) | Included in delivered pounds, excluded from recipient count |
| Sep 1 | No donation or delivery records for Tuesday, Sep 1 | Confirm whether trucks ran that day |
| Produce type | Filled in on 47 of 145 donation rows | Shown where available |