White Pony Express expands operations as demand grows

There’s a lot of symbolism surrounding an image of a white horse — it can be interpreted as one of Apollo’s white stallions pulling his golden chariot (which represents the sun) across the sky, innocence, power or unbridled freedom. For the White Pony Express, the white horse stands for unity and expediency in connecting vulnerable communities with the resources they need.

Founded in 2013 by Carol Weyland Conner, White Pony Express began as a food rescue effort to redistribute grocery stores’ produce surplus to low-income communities in Contra Costa County, where more than 10% of the population lives below the federal poverty line. Since the onset of the pandemic, Executive Director Eve Birge estimates the nonprofit has tripled the amount of food deliveries and donations, sometimes delivering as much as 37,000 pounds of food in a day.