WHITE PONY EXPRESS

WPE is focused on rectifying rampant food injustice by providing socially and culturally appropriate food choices to communities in Contra Costa County that face the greatest obstacles. These include the unhoused, new immigrants, isolated seniors, children and families, survivors of abuse, students, people with special needs, foster youth, and other marginalized groups. In 2021, WPE rescued more than 4.7 million pounds of food and distributed it so over 120,000 unique individuals.

Special Initiatives
WPE’s programs and projects support our goal to build a sustainable food system, providing food access to the food insecure.

School Pantry Program
Within our Food Rescue Program, WPE’s School Pantry Program tackles the problem of hunger among low-income children and their families. WPE delivers 600-800 pounds of food twice a week to 14 under-resourced schools. Participating schools are in low-income communities with over 80% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. School administrators have noted improvements in learning, reading retention, attendance, participation, and behavior. We aim to expand this program to more schools in our community.

Food Rescue Hero App
To meet the ever-growing community need for food, WPE has launched an innovative app-based initiative called Food Rescue Hero (FRH). We know that grocers, caterers, restaurants, and farmers throw away tons of food they are unable to sell. The FRH Initiative is a pioneering technology solution connecting food producers’ surplus with available volunteer food runners. It works like Uber, only for free food distribution! Food producers with surplus food get connected with one of our non-profit partners in need of that type of food, and the run is published on the FRH app. Available food runners are pinged when there’s a delivery and can claim the run. It all happens in real time and will exponentially increase both our volunteer ranks and the amount of food we are able to distribute to those in need. It is guaranteed to further reduce food waste at restaurants, hotels, caterers, cafeterias, and other food purveyors. Our goal is to spread FRH’s use throughout the county.

Responding to California Legislation on Food Waste
California S.B. 1383 became law on January 1, 2022. The law requires California food purveyors to recover 20% of edible food otherwise bound for landfills by 2025. Currently, there is no state or local funding earmarked for food rescue organizations, but WPE is committed to its successful roll-out and implementation.

Development of a “How-to” Kit for Creating a Food Rescue
We also aim to replicate our food rescue model. While there are people who would like to do something about food waste, they don’t know what to do. In response, WPE is developing a kit to help communities set up and operate a food rescue service. The kit will be easy-to-follow and inspirational. Disseminating this how-to kit will expand the food recovery movement the world over.

Our current organizational objective is to position White Pony Express to successfully manage and integrate the growth it has experienced since the onset of the pandemic and to prepare for the anticipated growth to come in 2022 and 2023.

To meet the objective, our strategy is to continue to enhance, grow, and improve WPE’s infrastructure using best practices to attain a ‘gold standard’ operation that can be easily replicated.

Programmatic Objectives
To inaugurate the Food Rescue Hero program and engage at least 200 active users on the app by 2023.
To develop a new model for clothing and goods that is aligned with the food rescue model and enables pre-pandemic distribution levels.
Customer/Constituent Objectives
To increase the volunteer base by 20% by 2023.
To actively participate in and influence the public policy arena related to Senate Bill 1383.
Financial Objectives
To increase financial and in-kind donations by 15% by 2023.
To align accounting and financial management with industry best practices.
Internal/Operational Objectives
To increase efficiency through integrated data and improved technology, including deploying a new CRM, by 2023.
To expand targeted communication among our various audiences to achieve respective and specific goals.

WPE will define, plan, and execute on the organization’s naturally occurring growth in every phase of its business, including:
• Program development
• Financial management and reporting
• Integrated data system and improved technology
• Increased donor funds and in-kind donations

To meet our goals, WPE capabilities include an experienced staff, 400 volunteers, a strong board of directors, a robust balance sheet, and long-term food donor partners to sustain our growth trajectory.

Since our inception, WPE has rescued 20.4 million pounds of food from landfills, saving 22,500 tons of CO2e from filling the air. In just 8 years, our small but mighty team of 17 staff, dedicated volunteers, and 10 vehicles have rescued and delivered fresh, high-quality food—enough for more than 17.5 million meals! WPE has distributed 950,000+ items of clothing, shoes, books, and educational toys. Through our partners, and powered by 400+ volunteers, our growing circle of giving serves 120,000+ people in our community annually.
Specifically, our progress has included:
- Holding 34+ Mobile Boutique events,
- Distributing 700,000+ clothing items, toys, and books.
- Building a base of 400+ community volunteers.
- Partnering with 100+ food, toy, and clothing donors.
- Partnering with 80+ nonprofits, through whom we serve 120,000 neighbors in need.