A small, but lush farm in the foothills above Carpinteria is growing everything from lettuce to citrus.
Rincon Hill Farm is growing high-end produce intended for some farm-to-table restaurants. But some of the food is headed to a grassroots, nonprofit group that helps feed those in need in Santa Barbara County.
"Veggie Rescue is a nonprofit that's been around for 16 years now in Santa Barbara County," said Eryn Shugart, Veggie Rescue’s Executive Director. "We address food insecurity by picking up surplus produce and other food from 55 farms, stores, and restaurants throughout the county, and then donating it via our refrigerated trucks to nonprofits serving food-insecure individuals."
Shugart added that the organization is closing in on more than five million pounds of food collected during its history.
"We pick up a lot of produce," said Shugart. "But, we pick up other types of food as well. We pick up packaged goods, dairy, and meat."
Veggie Rescue doesn’t distribute the food it collects directly to those in need. It gets it to a network of nonprofits that ensure it reaches those who need it most.
"We work with close to 70 different nonprofits in the community," said Veggie Rescue Program Director David Roberts. "There's everything from helping the homeless, to families, to children. Things like the Rescue Mission, Casa de La Raza, Catholic Charities, and the Salvation Army."
He talked about how Vegge Rescue started.
"It began with the vision of our founder, Terry Delaney. He was a seafood salesman in Santa Ynez. He was noticing there was excess food in the fields that was not being harvested. He got some friends, and met the farmers, and asked for permission to go glean, and pick what wasn't sellable, but still fresh and healthy. They started donating it to nonprofits in the Santa Ynez area. Since then, it has grown to include all of Santa Barbara County."
Shugart said in addition to the farmers and others who donate food, the community has stepped up to support the effort.
"Veggie Rescue relies on the generosity of community members to fund our services. We're so grateful to our individual supporters and to local foundations that provide funding for us. We also have some special events. We have our Sweet 16 on May 21 at the Bernat Vineyards and Cafe Farm in Santa Ynez."
At Rincon Hill Farm, the nonprofit is getting a variety of produce.
"We have a lot of produce growing for our upcoming restaurants. We'll have a restaurant opening in March in Montecito," said Liz Hahn, Rincon Hill Farm’s Production Manager.
"We have a lot of root vegetables, we have perla, a lot of things which are in season," explained Hahn.
She said they are small, with eight acres of land, and about two (acres) in farm production. But, she said, when they heard about Veggie Rescue, they wanted to help.
"Because we are new to the community, we thought it would be a good way to connect with everyone. A lot of produce was going to waste, and we wanted to find donors who could get it to people who need it most."
Shugart said the goal is to reach a point where no one in Santa Barbara County goes to bed hungry.
"We're living in a county which has the highest level of poverty of California's 58 counties, unfortunately, and we really want to address that," said Shugart.
Veggie Rescue is making a dent in the problem. In 2025, it collected and distributed 750,000 pounds of food, the most in its history. The total was up 17% from 2024.
