Pawtucket named one of 18 US cities to partner with DoorDash to combat hunger

At the White House first conference on hunger in over 50 years, a partnership between DoorDash and the city of Pawtucket, as well as 17 other cities in the United States, was announced to support local food banks, food pantries, and other community organizations through delivery, technology, data, and gift cards to serve vulnerable populations experiencing food insecurity.

Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and DoorDash announced the new partnership to combat food insecurity by supplying targeted support to the Pawtucket community by providing Community Credits gift cards, proprietary DoorDash data on local food access needs, direct funding for delivery, and DoorDash logistics to power the local delivery of charitable food via Project DASH to meet the community’s unique food access needs. This partnership is part of DoorDash’s larger, national commitment with 17 other mayors across the country in support of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. 

“No one in Pawtucket should be going hungry or lack access to healthy, nutritional food options,” said Mayor Donald Grebien. “Unfortunately, we know that some Pawtucket families are struggling and that’s why we’re so excited to partner with DoorDash and their innovative Project DASH program to help address food insecurity in our community.”

“Our mission to grow and empower local economies animates our longstanding work to support the communities we serve by helping tackle critical issues. The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health places a spotlight on the urgent need for collaboration across the public and private sectors to break down barriers to food access,” said Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, Vice President of Communications and Policy at DoorDash. “We’re proud that DoorDash has led on this issue for years through action and advocacy, and excited to now partner with mayors across the United States by providing resources to help combat hunger and support for local communities. With an estimated over 50 million meals delivered, Project DASH has empowered food banks, food pantries, and other social impact organizations with local delivery to better serve people experiencing food insecurity. We’re inspired by the conference’s focus on solving hunger and we will continue to explore innovative solutions like our Storefront for Food Banks and advocate for policies that advance the fight against food insecurity.”

Project DASH

DoorDash’s Project DASH helps broaden access to food across the country. Launched in 2018, Project DASH leverages the same technology available to DoorDash’s merchant partners to empower community organizations to reach their clients and increase access to food and other important resources in their communities. As of September 2022, Project DASH had powered more than 2.5 million deliveries of an estimated over 50 million meals across the U.S. and Canada, and actively partners with more than 50 food banks in the Feeding America network. 

As part of this announcement, DoorDash is also unveiling new and refreshed data demonstrating the impact of Project DASH in Rhode Island:

• To date, 93% of Project DASH deliveries in Rhode Island or an estimated more than 4,680 meals were made to communities of color. 
• To date, 93% of Project DASH deliveries in Rhode Island or an estimated more than 4,680 meals were made to low-income communities. 
• To date, 99% of Project DASH deliveries in Rhode Island  were made to census tracts with a higher rate of households receiving SNAP/EBT than the national rate (11.4%)

White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health gathered public and private sectors to develop a coordinated strategy to accelerate progress and drive transformative change in the U.S. to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and close the socio-economic disparities surrounding these challenges. 

As DoorDash continues its work to broaden food access across the United States, joining forces with partners in government and the nonprofit sectors is more important than ever. DoorDash is honored to partner with Mayor Grebien and participate in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Local organizations that would like to learn more about partnering with Project DASH can do so here. 

DOORDASH: DoorDash will partner with 18 cities – Mesa and Tucson in Arizona; Oakland and Riverside in California; Paterson and Camden City in New Jersey; Albany, Mt. Vernon, and Rochester in New York; Columbus, Ohio; Tacoma, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Hartford, Connecticut; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and Richmond, Virginia – to combat hunger by addressing transportation barriers to accessing healthy food. The company will provide targeted support through: $1 million in DoorDash Community Credits, which community-based organizations can use to provide free food delivery; access to Project DASH on the DoorDash logistics platform, which food banks, food pantries, and other charitable organizations can use to power charitable food delivery; and direct funding of in-kind charitable food deliveries through the platform.

For all food activities happening around the US – read the Fact Sheet from the White House:

HERE

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DoorDash (NYSE: DASH) is a technology company that connects consumers with their favorite local businesses in 27 countries across the globe. Founded in 2013, DoorDash builds products and services to help businesses innovate, grow, and reach more customers. DoorDash is building infrastructure for local commerce, enabling merchants to thrive in the convenience economy, giving consumers access to more of their communities, and providing work that empowers. With DoorDash, there is a neighborhood of good in every order.