Words by Smiley Team
To keep the pandemic from spreading in their states, many governors issued stay-at-home orders for residents. But if you're unable to get to a grocery shop and return home safely, what do stay-at-home orders mean for the hungry and homeless?
White Pony Express driver and coordinator Cliff Strand Jr. delivers meals to homeless shelters and food charities to help with just that. White Pony Express is a food rescue and recovery organisation.
Cliff was homeless and on the verge of death six years ago, having battled heroin addiction for years. One of the volunteers from White Pony Express started showing up with fresh food packages for him while he was living beneath a bridge outside of Oakland, California.
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"I weighed 420 pounds, had green and yellow skin, and was sick to my stomach and ready to pass out," he says. "Peter Brooks, one of the pioneers of [White Pony Express], had no business being beneath that bridge outside of Oakland, but what he did was send me food with love and respect and hope."
A life-saving rehabilitation program brought Cliff and White Pony Express together again two years after their initial meeting. He began delivering food to homeless shelters and drug rehabilitation centers, some of which he had previously stayed in.
“Because that was me when I deliver to these locations, my heart aches for them," says Cliff. "Being able to come back and show people the grace of God that was shown to me at the beginning of this whole affair makes my heartbeat."
In the wake of the coronavirus, organizations like White Pony Express are more vital than ever to Cliff, who credits them with bringing fresh food and hope to his community. For those living on the streets or in shelters, "anything as wild as what's going on in the globe right now" is enough to make them worry for their life.
White Pony Express' executive director, Eve Birge, and chief operations officer, Isa Campbell, said their food rescue and distribution model could be used across the country.
1 in 4 Americans are skipping meals or relying on food donations. Balance this statistic with the fact Americans throw away 40% of food supply – "perfectly good food that could wipe out hunger in the U.S. if it was rescued and delivered to those in need," states White Pony Express.
Their goal is to end poverty and hunger by delivering food. The organisation serves 120,000 people each year through more than 80 partner agencies. Since the beginnings, WPE has rescued and delivered more than 18 million pounds of nutritious food, which prevented more than 17,000 tons of CO2 emissions from entering the air we breathe.
WPE works as the connecting link between those with surplus food and those in need.
To learn more about White Pony Express, head to their website to find out about volunteering options.
