White Pony Express Food Rescue/Relay Nonprofit Seeks New Home

White Pony Express, the only food rescue and relay program solely dedicated to serving Contra Costa County, has outgrown its current space in Walnut Creek's Saranap neighborhood and is looking for a new home with freeway access.
By: White Pony Express
 
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - July 31, 2015 - PRLog -- White Pony Express (WPE), the only food rescue and relay program solely dedicated to serving Contra Costa County, has outgrown its 3,500-square-foot space in Walnut Creek's Saranap neighborhood. The organization is in immediate need of twice that square footage to house its expanded operations under one roof.

And it could use the public's help.

Founded in September 2013 by Carol Weyland Conner, PhD, spiritual director of Sufism Reoriented, WPE feeds the underserved through a direct distribution model that allows for quick collection and delivery of large amounts of food, including fresh produce, dairy, meat, and healthy choices. In its first year of operation, WPE incorporated as a 501(c)(3) and expanded its outreach to include the White Pony Express Free General Store, which distributes free new and gently used clothing, toys, and books through its innovative Mobile Boutique program, and the White Pony Inn, which helps prevent homelessness by connecting people with the resources they need to move from the margins to the mainstream of society. The valuable services quickly gained traction and popularity and now the all-volunteer organization finds itself cramped for space.

Executive Director Gary Conner, who was a featured presenter at the March 2015 National Conference on Ending Poverty, says they hope to secure a new address and move the food operations indoors before the rains descend.

Property owners and Realtors® interested in helping WPE find a larger, fully equipped home base within a ten-minute drive of the current 1300 Boulevard Way, Walnut Creek, location are asked to contact Gary Conner, at 925.788.0146, or gary@whiteponyexpress.org. Because pick up and deliveries are made throughout Contra Costa County and as far south as San Jose, the new location must have easy freeway access.

For more information about WPE and the people it serves, please visit www.whiteponyexpress.org.

Consider the achievements of this all-volunteer organization:

Food Rescue Program

•WPE serves 60,000+ people through its 50+ recipient organizations, including Bay Area Rescue Mission, Brookside Shelter, Contra Costa Interfaith Housing, Don Brown Shelter, Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, Hope House, Loaves and Fishes, Love-A-Child Homeless Recovery Shelter, Monument Crisis Center, Shelter, Inc., Trinity Center, and Wollam House.

•To date, more than 1,700,000 lbs. of fresh, high-quality food rescued from retail surplus has been delivered to those most in need—enough to provide 1,400,000 meals.

•WPE specializes in delivering perishable foods such as produce, dairy, meat, and deli items generally within two hours of receiving the donation call.

•The discounted value of the food delivered is more than $2,839,000.

•Nutritious food deliveries have grown to almost 4,500 lbs. per day.

•The WPE volunteer base has grown from 100 to more than 400 people.

•WPE partners with more than 100 donors including The Cheesecake Factory, Choice Lunch, Costco, Noah's Bagels, Nob Hill Foods, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe’s, Walgreens, Walmart, Whole Foods, and several local farmers markets.

Free General Store Program

•Since its inception in March 2014, the White Pony Express Free General Store has held 23 “mobile boutiques” at churches and community centers in impoverished neighborhoods, serving 5,000+ people in the county and distributing 70,000 items of clothing and 30,000 toys and books, all free of charge.

•Donors include American Dry Cleaning, ARF Thrift Store, Dutch Girl Cleaners, Five Little Monkeys, Folkmanis Puppets, The Gap, Hospice Thrift Stores, Lusoni’s Alterations & Tailoring, Oakwood Athletic Club, Pacific Work Apparel, Patagonia, Redwing Shoes, Renaissance ClubSport, The Shoe Spot, Target, and 24 Hour Fitness.

Contact
Gary Conner
***@whiteponyexpress.org
End
Source:White Pony Express
Email:***@whiteponyexpress.org
Tags:Food Recovery, Food Relay, Contra Costa underserved, White Pony Express
Industry:Food, Non-profit
Location:Walnut Creek - California - United States
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