Board & Executive Leadership Report

Veggie Rescue H1 2026

Six-Month Operations Review · January – June 2026 · Santa Barbara County
363,158Lbs Donated (6 mo)
368,163Lbs Delivered (6 mo)
101.9%Avg. Distribution Efficiency
~296KMeals Provided

January – June 2026 at a Glance

Veggie Rescue rescued 363,158 lbs of food across six months, rising from 52,447 lbs in January to a first-half high of 74,610 lbs in June — a 42% increase. Deliveries kept pace at 368,163 lbs, holding distribution efficiency in a healthy 97.7%–112.1% band all six months. The most significant operational shift was in food quality: the fresh food ratio on donations climbed from 37.5% in February to 68.0% in June, nearly tripling the share of fresh produce moving through the network. Donor concentration in SYSCO and Babe Warehouse peaked at 68.8% in April and has since eased to 54.2% in June as new sources, Chavez Family Farm and the newly tracked Shepherd Giving Farm, entered the donor base. Olga remains the highest-volume driver every month, a structural dependency that should shift once the new driver is hired and fully onboarded.

Donations — Six-Month Totals (kept strictly separate from deliveries)

Total Lbs Donated
363,158
Jan–Jun 2026
Avg Monthly Donations
60,526
lbs / month
Jan → Jun Growth
+42.3%
52,447 → 74,610 lbs
Unique Donors (Jun)
41
up from 31 in January
Top Donor Concentration
54.2%–68.8%
SYSCO + Babe Warehouse, range across H1

Deliveries — Six-Month Totals

Total Lbs Delivered
368,163
Jan–Jun 2026
Avg Monthly Deliveries
61,361
lbs / month
Avg Distribution Efficiency
101.9%
range: 97.7%–112.1%
Recipient Orgs (Jun)
31
stable at 31 since April
Fresh Delivered (Jun)
66.1%
up from ~38% in January

Community Impact — Six-Month Totals

Est. Meals Provided
~296,400
@ 1.2 lbs / meal
Est. Food Value Rescued
~$538,700
reported + standardized estimate, see note*
CO₂ Prevented (standardized)
773.1 tons
@ 4.2 lbs CO₂ / lb delivered
Active Drivers
4
Olga, Kevin, Rhyn, David/Eryn
Service Regions
4
+ occasional LA / Oxnard runs

*Food value reported directly for Jan–Apr ($78,671 / $80,560 / $95,387 / $95,157); May and June did not include this metric in the source dashboards and are estimated here at the $1.50/lb rate used in March–April for methodological consistency.

📈
Six-Month Trend: Donations vs. Deliveries
Both lines track closely all six months — the network has consistently redistributed close to (or slightly more than) what it collects, with no sustained drawdown or backlog building.
Distribution Efficiency by Month
Fresh Food Ratio: Donations vs. Deliveries
Key Highlights — H1 2026

📦 Donation Volume Up 42%

Monthly donations grew from 52,447 lbs (Jan) to 74,610 lbs (Jun), the strongest month of H1, driven by growth in the donor base (31 → 41 unique donors) rather than reliance on any single source.

⚠️ Donor Concentration Peaked in April

SYSCO + Babe Warehouse reached a record 68.8% of donations in April. Concentration has since eased to 54.2% in June as newer donors scale up — worth continued monitoring, not yet resolved.

🌱 Fresh Food Ratio Nearly Doubled

Fresh food (produce + packaged produce) rose from 37.5% of donations in February to 68.0% in June — a major nutritional-quality improvement for recipient partners.

🏆 Efficiency Stayed in a Healthy Band

Distribution efficiency ranged 97.7%–112.1% every month — deliveries never meaningfully lagged donations, and occasional >100% months reflect normal month-boundary timing, not backlog.

🚚 Olga Remains the Highest-Volume Driver

Olga has carried the largest single share of both pickups and deliveries every month (consistently 75–78% of volume in months where a full breakdown was available), reflecting her 5-day schedule and exclusive SYSCO pickup role.

🌾 New Donor Tracking: SGF & Chavez Family Farm

Shepherd Giving Farm debuted as the #5 tracked donor in June (5,238 lbs), alongside Chavez Family Farm's emergence as a top-3 donor, early signs of the donor-diversification the board has been watching for.

📦
Monthly Donation Volume
Top-2 Donor Concentration Trend
Every month, SYSCO and Babe Warehouse together represent more than half of all donations. This is the single largest supply-risk factor in the donation base.
Unique Donors & Fresh Food Ratio
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Top Donor Each Month
MonthTop DonorRegionVolume (lbs)Share of Month
JanuarySYSCOOxnard19,97038.1%
FebruarySYSCOOxnard21,20044.9%
MarchSYSCOOxnard22,95035.3%
AprilBabe WarehouseSanta Maria21,82935.1%
MaySYSCOOxnard26,65043.1%
JuneBabe WarehouseSanta Maria24,61933.0%
April marked the first month Babe Warehouse displaced SYSCO as the #1 donor by volume; June repeated that pattern, suggesting Babe Warehouse's role is growing rather than a one-off.
🥬
Donation Food Category Mix by Month
Packaged Goods dropped from being the largest single category in Jan–May to being overtaken by Fresh Produce in June (32,619 lbs vs. 22,631 lbs) — the clearest signal yet of the fresh-food shift.
📍
Donation Source by Region
MonthTop Region / SourceLbs# 2 RegionLbs
JanuaryOxnard (SYSCO)19,970SB/Goleta16,700
FebruaryOxnard (SYSCO)21,200SM/Orcutt13,393
MarchOxnard (SYSCO)22,950SM/Orcutt20,779
AprilSM/Orcutt22,556Oxnard (SYSCO)20,942
MayOxnard (SYSCO)26,650Santa Maria8,198
JuneSanta Maria24,619Oxnard (SYSCO)15,850
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Monthly Delivery Volume
Recipient Organizations Served
Recipient count grew from 26 (Jan) to a stable 31 (Apr–Jun), suggesting the partner network has reached a steady operating footprint after Q1 expansion.
Delivery Regional Mix by Month
🌿
Delivery Food Category Mix by Month
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Monthly Delivery Summary
MonthLbs DeliveredRecipient OrgsFresh DeliveredDist. Efficiency
January58,81726~38.6%112.1%
February47,38828~37.6%100.4%
March63,5913745.9%97.8%
April63,4383152.9%102.0%
May62,0013141.9%100.2%
June72,9303166.1%97.7%
🍽️
Meals Provided by Month
Meal equivalents rose 55% from January (~39,200) to June (~60,800), tracking the growth in delivered pounds and the richer fresh-food mix.
CO₂ Prevented (standardized, tons)
Standardized here at 4.2 lbs CO₂ per lb delivered for comparability. April's source dashboard reported 120.9 metric tons rather than the 133.2 short tons used elsewhere in H1 — a unit-labeling inconsistency worth correcting in the underlying template.
Estimated Food Value Rescued
Jan–Apr figures are as reported in each month's dashboard; May–Jun are estimated at $1.50/lb delivered (see Executive Summary note) since those two months' source files did not include this metric.
🚗
Driver Volume Highlights
MonthHighest-Volume DriverShare of VolumeNote
JanuaryOlga~80.9% of donations42,415 of 52,447 lbs collected
FebruaryOlga~90.9% of deliveriesSole SYSCO pickup driver
MarchOlga5-day schedule, SYSCO lead route
AprilOlga5-day schedule, exclusive SYSCO pickup
MayOlga77.8% donations / 76.1% deliveries3.7x Kevin's donation volume on similar run counts
JuneOlga87.7% (Olga+Kevin combined, deliveries)Avg. 662 lbs/delivery vs. Kevin's 340
Olga has been the highest-volume driver in every month of H1 2026, largely due to her exclusive SYSCO pickup role and 5-day schedule. This is a persistent single-point-of-failure risk.
🎯
Strategic Insights for Board & Leadership Review
Risk

Donor Concentration Remains Structurally High

SYSCO and Babe Warehouse together represented between 54.2% (June) and 68.8% (April) of all donations every month this half. Even at its best month, over half of all food rescued came from just two sources.

  • Continue tracking newer donors (Chavez Family Farm, Shepherd Giving Farm) as a diversification signal
  • Formalize a donor-diversification target for H2 2026 (e.g., top-2 share below 50%)
  • Stress-test operations against a temporary SYSCO or Babe Warehouse disruption
Opportunity

Fresh Food Ratio Nearly Doubled

Fresh food donations rose from 37.5% (Feb) to 68.0% (Jun) — a dramatic nutritional-quality improvement, driven by growth in produce-heavy donors like Chavez Family Farm and Shepherd Giving Farm.

  • Highlight this trend in grant applications and donor communications as a health-impact story
  • Confirm cold-chain / storage capacity keeps pace as fresh volume grows
  • Monitor whether June's 68% ratio holds or reflects a seasonal produce peak
Risk

Driver Volume Imbalance (Olga)

Olga has carried the largest share of both donation pickups and deliveries in every month of H1 2026, consistently 3–4x other drivers' volume, tied to her exclusive SYSCO route and 5-day schedule.

  • Cross-train new driver on SYSCO Oxnard runs to build route redundancy
  • Evaluate a rotating schedule so no single driver is a point of failure
Monitor

Distribution Efficiency Stayed Healthy, But Watch the Trend Direction

Efficiency ranged from 97.7% (Jun) to 112.1% (Jan), with a general downward drift across the half — consistent with growing donation volume slightly outpacing same-month delivery in the busiest months.

  • No action needed if the pattern reflects normal month-boundary timing (as in January)
  • Watch for a sustained sub-95% run, which would signal an emerging capacity constraint
Data Quality

Two Methodology Gaps to Close

Two inconsistencies surfaced while assembling this six-month rollup: April's CO₂ figure was reported in metric tons (120.9) rather than the short tons (133.2) used every other month, and Food Value Rescued was omitted from the May and June dashboard templates entirely.

  • Standardize CO₂ reporting on short tons (or clearly label metric tons if that's the intended unit going forward)
  • Add Food Value Rescued back into the May/June template for reporting continuity
Opportunity

Donor Base Is Diversifying and Growing

Unique active donors grew from 31 (Jan) to 41 (Jun), with Shepherd Giving Farm debuting as the #5 donor in June and Chavez Family Farm emerging as a top-3 source — early, tangible progress on the diversification the board has flagged as a priority.

  • Continue formal tracking of SGF as a distinct partner (separate from Tom Shepherd Farms / Max Iniguez)
  • Consider a targeted outreach push to convert more "occasional" CRM-status donors to "active"
Veggie Rescue · Six-Month Operations Dashboard · January–June 2026 · Internal board & leadership use

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