Exploding Hunger Crisis Hits Santa Barbara Food Rescue

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - A local nonprofit races to rescue surplus produce and deliver it to families in need as hunger rises across the region.

Fresh food begins long before it reaches a plate.

Just after sunrise at Rincon Hill Farms in Carpinteria, workers move quickly through the fields — cutting, sorting, and lifting crops pulled from the soil before the heat settles in.

This is where the rescue begins.

“We have an undercover crop that’s helping to protect the soil,” said Chloe Lobdell, farm director at Rincon Hill Farm.

Rows of fresh produce stretch across the fields — some destined for store shelves, others left behind. But even what doesn’t make it to market still has value.

“It’s wintertime, but we have a lot of root vegetables and lettuce,” Lobdell said.

That food now fuels Veggie Rescue, a Santa Barbara nonprofit that has saved more than five million pounds of fresh food by diverting surplus produce from farms, grocery stores, and farmers markets — and delivering it directly to those who need it most.

“To rescue food that would otherwise end up in landfills,” said David Roberts, Veggie Rescue program director. “All of our food is donated, and we get it to nonprofit partners within 24 hours.”

Veggie Rescue distributes food to nearly 70 nonprofit partners, including schools, churches, shelters, and food banks across Santa Barbara County.

“We’re so thrilled that we’re able to donate food to so many partners,” said Executive Director Eryn Shugart. “But the need right now is outpacing the supply.”

Shugart says cuts to federal benefits and reductions in food bank budgets have pushed more families into food insecurity — at a time when fresh food is already in short supply.

“Unfortunately, as benefits have been cut at the federal level and the Foodbank’s budget has been reduced, food insecurity has risen in our county,” Shugart said.

As demand increases, Veggie Rescue has been forced to maintain a waiting list for organizations seeking fresh food — something the nonprofit hopes to eliminate with increased community support in the coming months.

“I don’t want there to be hungry people in this beautiful place where there’s so much abundance,” Shugart said.

As the sun sets, the rescue shifts from the fields to the city.

At the State Street farmers market, Veggie Rescue driver Kevin Kemp moves through closing stalls, collecting unsold produce as vendors pack up for the night.

Crates of greens, berries, and tomatoes fill the van — all headed to shelters, pantries, and meal programs.

“They could’ve held onto it,” Kemp said. “But they donated it.”

Even small donations make a difference.

“You realize it really does add up — just a couple hundred pounds at a time,” Kemp said.

The journey ultimately leads back to the fields, where hope is planted with every harvest — and where the answer to hunger begins.