[Noozhawk’s note: One in a series on the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation’s 2025 Champions of the Valley who will be honored for their volunteerism and community service Oct. 12 at Rancho Carmina in Los Olivos. Click here for more information, or click here to purchase tickets online.]
Terry Delaney looked out over fields of withering produce in the Santa Ynez Valley in 2010 and saw something others had missed: opportunity disguised as waste.
While farmers plowed under surplus crops and tons of fresh fruits and vegetables rotted in fields, families throughout Santa Barbara County struggled to put nutritious food on their tables.
Armed with little more than a pickup truck and unwavering determination, Delaney founded what would become Veggie Rescue, transforming food waste into food security one rescued pound at a time.
Fifteen years later, his grassroots vision has become a countywide food recovery operation that has delivered more than 4 million pounds of fresh produce to those in need — earning him recognition as a Santa Ynez Valley Foundation 2025 Champion of the Valley.
“Many hands make work light,” Delaney said, a philosophy that has guided his approach from the beginning.
But it was his hands that first got dirty — literally and figuratively — when he began organizing volunteer gleaning efforts in local fields.
Delaney’s path to food recovery began in the seafood industry. Born and raised in Orange County, he grew up in his family’s retail and wholesale seafood business, learning food logistics that would prove invaluable decades later.
After working for sustainable seafood companies in Nova Scotia, Maine and Alaska, he and his wife, Holly, moved to Santa Ynez in 1990, initially renting a cottage just 300 feet from what would become their seven-acre home.
The turning point came around 2004 when Delaney began reading articles about food insecurity and food waste in Santa Barbara County.
“This was hard for me to believe!” he recalled. “In Santa Barbara County? No way!
“I later found out it was all too true.”
When his boss suggested it was time to “improve your golf game,” Delaney’s handicap remained unchanged, but the time allowed him to study the intersection of food waste and hunger that had become part of life for many county residents.
The research led to action.
“Veggie Rescue was born in the back of my pickup truck,” Delaney explained, crediting like-minded farmers, chefs, crew members and board directors for the organization’s growth.
Holly’s support proved crucial from the start.
“I remember it was right when I was thinking about ‘what if’ and starting Veggie Rescue,” he said. “We were in a recession … and, without hesitation, Holly said ‘go for it.’”
“He built something that continues to nourish and uplift our community, and has done so with grace, grit and generosity.”
nomination letter
What began as Terry and Holly delivering boxes of produce in their pickup has evolved into an essential food recovery nonprofit organization operating throughout the county.
Veggie Rescue now supports more than 45 nonprofits countywide, including 14 in the valley, rescuing hundreds of thousands of pounds of produce annually.
Delaney’s innovation extended beyond logistics. Recognizing the need to preserve rescued produce, he designed and built a mobile solar-refrigerated storage unit, helping maintain nutritional value from field to table.
Under his leadership and with support from a dedicated board and staff, Veggie Rescue has grown to operate a small fleet of trucks.
“Terry is not only the founder of Veggie Rescue; he is the heart of it,” current and former board presidents David Coryat and Lisa Bertero Palmer wrote in their nomination letter.
“His dedication, warmth and humility continue to inspire everyone around him.”
Delaney’s community involvement extends far beyond organizational duties.
He’s participated in Solvang’s Fourth of July parade year after year, driving a Veggie Rescue truck and handing out carrots to community members.
He’s placed donation canisters in local businesses, personally collecting contributions, and worked to revive “Farm Track,” a program connecting local children to agriculture and service by having them harvest produce for donation.
Rich Nagler, who met Delaney in 2011 when serving as Rotary Club of Los Olivos president, witnessed the evolution from those early days when “Terry and his wife, Holly, were Veggie Rescue.”
Nagler marveled at how Delaney, while working full-time, “never stopped thinking of ways to increase the amount of potentially wasted food and serve those who are nutritional deficient.”
As a founding member of Veggie Rescue’s new Major/Planned Gifts Team, Delaney continues helping the organization build sustainable funding for future operations.
Behind the scenes, he offers ideas, encouragement and hands-on help — whatever the organization needs.
“Terry never set out to be recognized,” Coryat and Palmer noted. “That’s part of what makes him so deserving.
“He built something that continues to nourish and uplift our community, and has done so with grace, grit and generosity.”
This year marks Veggie Rescue’s 15th anniversary, and Delaney was recently honored at the organization’s Gathering for Good celebration.
The Champion of the Valley recognition arrives as a fitting capstone to 15 years of transforming agricultural abundance into community nourishment.
“As rich as our soil and the crops we grow, our valley is equally abundant in volunteerism, caring and kindness,” Delaney reflected, embodying the very spirit he celebrates in others.
Champions of the Valley
Since 1995, the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation has been honoring exceptional local volunteers whose tireless community commitment enriches the Santa Ynez Valley and Los Alamos, their residents and a wide range of local organizations.
This year’s honorees for the 30th Annual Champions of the Valley are Laura Beas-Díaz, Mike Brady, Terry Delaney and Doug Riedy.
Youth Community Champions are Kacy Caplan and Adrian Garcia.
Becky Barieau will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The awards will be presented at 4 p.m. Oct. 12 at Rancho Carmina in Los Olivos. Click here for more information, or click here to purchase tickets online.
The Champions of the Valley celebration is sponsored by U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, Kiani Preserve, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Rio Vista Chevrolet, the Ann Jackson Family Foundation, Flying Z Ranch-Betty and Ron Ziegler, Rancho Carmina-Hayley Firestone, Women Winemakers & Culinarians Foundation, Noozhawk, The Landsby, Manchester Capital Management, the Nagler Family Fund, Allan Hancock College, Barbara Anderson, Linda Stafford Burrows, the Grenier Family, Hometown Insurance Services-Debbie and Randy Jones, Montecito Bank & Trust, Santa Barbara Foundation, Santa Ynez General-Turnbull Family, Town and Ranch Properties-Michael Nicola and Gabriel Bustamante, Urquidez Building Corp.-Laura and Chris Urquidez, Visit the Santa Ynez Valley.
The honorees were chosen by a panel of foundation board members and former honorees, based on nominations made by the community.
The honorees each receive a $1,000 grant to support a nonprofit organization of their choice. The Youth Community Champions each receive a $1,000 scholarship to further their education.
Santa Ynez Valley Foundation
The Santa Ynez Valley Foundation is dedicated to a mission centered around grant-making, extending financial support and resources to a diverse array of local organizations and initiatives in the Santa Ynez and Los Alamos valleys.
The grants are strategically channeled into key sectors, including food security, health and human services, support for seniors, arts and culture, youth development, and education.
The foundation also administers a robust College Scholarship Program designed to empower ambitious college-bound local students.
Currently, 50 students are beneficiaries of this program, receiving scholarships to facilitate their pursuit of higher education and, in turn, contributing to the overall advancement of the community.
