White Pony Express Delivers Fresh Produce Each Week to the Students in Antioch Schools

White Pony Express (WPE), a nonprofit based in Pleasant Hill, CA, announced that as part of its School Pantry Program, it has commenced delivering milk, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables to the students of Fremont Elementary and Antioch Middle School and their families.

Every week WPE will be bringing an average of about 1,400 lb. of nutritious surplus food to each of these two schools, which are WPE’s first pantries in the Antioch School District.  Over 40%, or 100,000 students in Contra Costa County, qualify for the free lunch program.

The goal of the School Pantry Program is to increase students’ academic and overall success and to help eliminate hunger so that all can contribute more fully to the communities in which they live.

The opening of these two pantries has been made possible by a $65,000 grant from IMPACT Diablo Valley, which was given to WPE to open three school pantries.   The first of these three pantries opened in April 2019 at the Ford Elementary School in Richmond.

In its first week of operation, about 150 families (600-750 people) between Antioch Middle School and Fremont Elementary School received these welcomed groceries.

Lindsay Lopez-Wisely, the principal at Antioch Middle School said, “Antioch Middle School is so proud to be partnering with White Pony Express.  Providing AMS families access to quality food is outstanding. We are pleased to be a community school that supports all families and promotes health and wellness through various resources such as the White Pony Express food giveaway every Wednesday. The smiles on our families’ faces provides more than nutrition, it gives peace of mind.”

“We are delighted that through the generosity of IMPACT Diablo Valley, WPE has been able to add three additions to WPE’s School Pantry Program,” remarked Mary Brooks, Executive Director of WPE.   “Research has shown that not having enough to eat negatively impacts children’s academic performance and that children who are hungry are more likely to miss school.”

Fremont Elementary and Antioch Middle School are WPE’s eighth and ninth school pantries.   Others include Lincoln Elementary (Richmond), CORE (Richmond), Boys & Girls Clubs (Martinez), EM Downer Elementary (San Pablo), Verde Elementary (Richmond), Riverview Middle School (Bay Point), and Ford Elementary (Richmond).

With the recent addition of the two schools in Antioch, the total of WPE’s school pantry deliveries will exceed 415,000 meals of quality, nutritious food in 2019.

ABOUT WPE:  WPE is a volunteer powered 501(c)3 organization headquartered in Pleasant Hill, CA, which helps people move from the margins to the mainstream by providing free food and clothing in a loving and respectful manner. 

Dr. Carol Weyland Conner, the spiritual director of Sufism Reoriented, founded WPE in September 2013 when she was troubled that with such as an abundance of food, many thousands were going hungry, while at the same time food retailers were throwing out huge quantities of healthy, fresh food.   Out of this insight, the Food Rescue program was born.  In 6 years, WPE has rescued and delivered more than 9,400,000 pounds (equivalent to over 7,800,000 meals) of fresh, nutritious food, free of charge, that would otherwise go to waste.

In 2014 the White Pony General Store (WPGS) was added to provide high quality clothing, toys, and books in a respectful, loving manner to the underserved in our communities–all free of charge. 

For more on WPE, visit www.whiteponyexpress.org.