At White Pony Express (WPE), we see every day how food recovery turns local generosity into lasting change. When our volunteers rescue fresh, nutritious surplus food and deliver it—free of charge—to neighbors across Contra Costa County, three powerful outcomes happen at once:
1) We reduce hunger. Good food that might have been tossed instead becomes dinner on the table for families, the aging, the unhoused, and other low- and no-income neighbors. National experts show that scaling food donation is one of the fastest ways to increase access to nutritious food and that targeted investments in food waste solutions can recover billions of meals annually.
2) We protect clean air and our climate. When food rots in landfills, it emits methane—a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. The EPA’s latest research estimates that 58% of methane escaping from municipal landfills comes from landfilled food waste. Reduced food waste is ranked among the most impactful climate solutions globally.
3) We mobilize our community. Food recovery is a hands-on, hope-building solution. It creates local volunteer opportunities, strengthens relationships between businesses and nonprofits, and stimulates green jobs.
Why White Pony Express?
Unlike national networks, WPE is local to the core. We aren’t backed by a national hub—we were founded in 2013 by Dr. Carol Weyland Conner to meet the specific needs of Contra Costa County, and we are powered by our neighbors: volunteers, local grocers and growers, community groups, and supporters. Today, WPE operates seven days a week, rescuing high-quality surplus food and delivering it the same day—with love—to nonprofit partners across the county. Since inception, WPE has moved tens of millions of pounds of nutritious food. We serve more than 105 local recipient organizations and reach roughly 130,000 people each year.
Join the movement
• Volunteer: Ride along, sort beautiful produce, or help in our hub—there’s a role for every schedule.
• Donate food: If you’re a retailer, distributor, farm, caterer, school, or venue, we’ll help you set up safe, reliable donations.
• Invest financially: Every dollar strengthens local cold storage, fuel-efficient routes, and rapid-response deliveries that keep food fresh and emissions low.
Dr. Conner founded WPE on a simple, transformative idea: abundance belongs to everyone. If we recover it—together—we can nourish our neighbors, clean our air, and weave a stronger community fabric right here in Contra Costa County.
Let’s keep delivering the abundance—with love.