Every day at White Pony Express, something extraordinary happens. Healthy food flows in from businesses, farms, gardens, and grocers across Contra Costa County. We inspect it, sort it, keep it cold, and move it out the same day to 144 recipient agencies serving our county’s most vulnerable neighbors. Last year that meant 4.9 million pounds recovered, 4.1 million meals delivered, and 135,000 individuals reached. It is a circle of giving rooted in a simple belief that together, all of us can take care of all of us.
Because the food we distribute is donated, people often ask: if everything is free, what does a monetary donation actually pay for?
The answer is everything that makes this generosity possible.
Running WPE costs roughly $3 million a year. About half goes to our people — the staff who come in first, leave last, and make this operation hum. The rest sustains the infrastructure that surrounds them: massive cold storage and loading docks, refrigeration running around the clock, a fleet of 14 trucks crossing the county daily, logistics systems, maintenance, and insurance. These aren’t overhead costs. They are the reason a donated crate of produce becomes a fresh meal on a neighbor’s table the same day it was picked up.
Without this investment, the community’s generosity has nowhere to land.
A gift to White Pony Express doesn’t buy the food. It buys the entire system — the hands, the wheels, the cold chain, the care — that connects local abundance to local need, supports food producers, ensures legal compliance, and protects our environment. Our financials are fully transparent and available at whiteponyexpress.org.
We are grateful for every dollar that keeps this work moving.