Santa Barbara County · Food Rescue & Community Distribution
VR picked up 66,289 lbs from 41 donors across 203 pickups and delivered 63,511 lbs to 25 recipient organizations across 135 drop-offs. Donations rose 2.5% from September. Deliveries held flat (−0.2%), and distribution efficiency was 95.8%.
That's about 52,900 meals, roughly 1,707 a day, and $109,874 in food value.
Year over year, volume is up. Donations grew 24.0% over October 2025 and deliveries grew 14.7%. SYSCO grew 22.9%, and the rest of the donor base grew a little faster: non-SYSCO pounds went from 30,228 to 37,719 (+24.8%).
Shepherd Giving Farm had its biggest month since tracking began: 8,171 lbs over 10 pickups, almost 3 times September, which makes SGF VR's #2 donor. September's dip looked like the end of the season. October came in 24% above SGF's best summer month.
The catch is concentration. SYSCO (43.1%) plus SGF (12.3%) supplied 55.4% of all donations, up from 51.5% in September. Olga carried 75.1% of delivered pounds and ran all 6 SYSCO pickups.
Donations
Deliveries
Shepherd Giving Farm
Community impact (based on lbs delivered)
SGF gave 8,171 lbs, up from 2,920 in September and above July's 6,564. The Oct 29 pickup (1,815 lbs) was the second largest of the month, so the harvest was still running at month's end.
Donations grew from 53,468 to 66,289 lbs and deliveries from 55,385 to 63,511 lbs. Active donors went from 36 to 41.
All four corridors landed between 21.3% and 27.1% of delivered pounds. In September the spread was 16.5% to 37.5%. Lompoc climbed from 17.6% to 26.8%.
SYSCO supplied 28,570 lbs (43.1%), up 9.4% from September. With SGF at 12.3%, two donors supplied more than half of everything VR rescued.
Olga logged 75.1% of delivered pounds (Sep: 62.3%) and all 6 SYSCO pickups. Her five-day schedule and SYSCO role explain most of it. The backup run Kevin made in September didn't repeat.
David logged 10 pickups and 8 deliveries, down from 18 and 18 in September. Fritz, VR's newest driver, logged 2 pickups (3,706 lbs) and 1 delivery (1,035 lbs).
| # | Donor | Location logged | Pickups | Lbs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SYSCO | Oxnard | 6 | 28,570 | |
| 2 | Shepherd Giving Farm | Lompoc | 10 | 8,171 | |
| 3 | Trader Joe's · De La Vina St., SB | Santa Barbara | 9 | 4,765 | |
| 4 | Babe Warehouse | Santa Maria | 7 | 4,548 | |
| 5 | Tutti Frutti Farms | Lompoc | 7 | 3,294 | |
| 6 | Hollandia Produce | Carpinteria | 7 | 2,664 | |
| 7 | Rincon Hills Farm | Carpinteria | 5 | 1,323 | |
| 8 | Midland Farm & Garden | Santa Ynez | 2 | 1,028 | |
| 9 | Bucket Brigade Yankee Farm | Santa Barbara | 5 | 876 | |
| 10 | Chavez Family Farm | Santa Barbara | 13 | 808 |
| # | Recipient organization | Service region | Drop-offs | Lbs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catholic Charities Food Pantry · Santa Maria | Santa Maria | 10 | 14,647 | |
| 2 | BSC · Buellton Senior Center | Santa Ynez | 25 | 10,708 | |
| 3 | Micah Mission | Lompoc | 6 | 7,569 | |
| 4 | Casa de la Raza | Santa Barbara | 13 | 7,342 | |
| 5 | Catholic Charities Food Pantry · Lompoc | Lompoc | 12 | 7,185 | |
| 6 | Friendship Manor | Santa Barbara | 5 | 2,714 | |
| 7 | People Helping People | Santa Ynez | 5 | 2,034 | |
| 8 | Santa Barbara Rescue Mission | Santa Barbara | 7 | 1,702 | |
| 9 | Unity Shoppe · Lompoc | Lompoc | 4 | 1,558 | |
| 10 | D&J Counseling | Santa Maria | 1 | 1,500 |
| Date | Driver | Vehicle | Lbs | Produce recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 1 | Olga | 14-1 | 935 | Not recorded |
| Mon, Oct 5 | Kevin | Ford Van | 839 | Not recorded |
| Wed, Oct 7 | Olga | 14-1 | 360 | Not recorded |
| Thu, Oct 8 | Olga | Ford Van | 510 | Not recorded |
| Mon, Oct 12 | Other | Other | 50 | Not recorded |
| Thu, Oct 15 | David | Ford Van | 2,105 | Tomatoes, eggplant |
| Thu, Oct 15 | David | Other | 40 | Delicata, onions · note: "food for F&T" |
| Mon, Oct 19 | Kevin | 14-1 | 932 | Tomatoes |
| Mon, Oct 26 | Kevin | 14-1 | 585 | Delicata squash |
| Thu, Oct 29 | Fritz | Ford Van | 1,815 | Not recorded |
Pickups went from 7 to 10 and the average load nearly doubled, from 417 to 817 lbs. Both rose together, which points to a bigger harvest.
29,288 lbs since June, about 24,400 meals' worth at 1.2 lbs per meal. October alone was 28% of that total.
Tom Shepherd Farms (279 lbs, 7 pickups) and Max Iniguez / Shepherd Farms (223 lbs, 4 pickups) are different farms and are excluded from every SGF figure here.
At 1.2 lbs per meal, October deliveries come to about 52,926 meals, roughly 1,707 a day. That's level with September and about 6,800 more than October 2025.
4.2 lbs of CO₂ prevented per lb delivered comes to 266,746 lbs (133.4 tons). Same factor used since May 2025.
28,867 lbs of fresh and packaged produce reached recipients, about 931 lbs a day. Fresh share of deliveries was 45.5%, up from 34.9% in October 2025.
At $1.73 per lb, deliveries were worth about $109,874 to the pantries, senior centers and shelters that received them.
Every corridor received at least 13,500 lbs. Santa Ynez Valley was lowest at 21.3%, and BSC alone took 79% of that corridor's pounds.
SYSCO gave 28,570 lbs (43.1%), up 9.4% from September and 22.9% from last October. SGF added 12.3%. Top-2 share has gone from 44.0% in August to 51.5% in September to 55.4% now. Both donors are healthy right now. The exposure: a change at either one would move 12% to 43% of VR's monthly volume.
SGF gave 8,171 lbs, nearly 3 times September and 24% above July. Last month's dashboard read the September dip as season's end; October says otherwise. The five-month total is 29,288 lbs, and Oct 25 put donors on the farm in the same month.
Olga carried 47,687 delivered lbs (75.1%) and 68.9% of pickup pounds, up from 62.3% and 63.1%. Her five-day schedule and SYSCO role account for most of that, and she ran all 6 SYSCO pickups. The backup Kevin provided on Sep 16 didn't happen in October.
David logged 10 pickups and 8 deliveries, down from 18 and 18 in September. Fritz, VR's newest driver, handled 3 large runs (Babe Warehouse, SGF and a 1,035 lb Catholic Charities Lompoc drop-off).
Santa Maria/Orcutt 27.1%, Lompoc 26.8%, Santa Barbara/Goleta 24.7%, Santa Ynez Valley 21.3%. September's spread was 21 points. Lompoc's rebound came mostly from Micah Mission (7,569 lbs) plus Catholic Charities Lompoc (7,185 lbs, up from 4,755).
VR delivered to 25 organizations, down from 29 in September and 37 reported in October 2025. The top 5 took 74.7% of pounds. Guadalupe Senior Center (6,009 lbs in September) received nothing this month.
Fresh food was 46.2% of donations and 45.5% of deliveries, level with September and up from 34.9% in October 2025. Fall crops are showing up in the logs: lettuce, cauliflower, citrus, persimmons and delicata. Tutti Frutti fell from 7,186 to 3,294 lbs, likely seasonal.