DoorDash announced an Emergency Food Response to help Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as federal funding faces potential disruption.
According to a press release, the initiative will deliver 1 million free meals to more than 300 Project DASH food bank partners nationwide in November. It will waive delivery and service fees for roughly 300,000 grocery orders for SNAP recipients in partnership with grocery stores, including Sprouts, Dollar General, Schnucks, Food Lion, Giant Foods, The GIANT Company, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Hy-Vee, Giant Eagle, and Wegmans. The release notes that these fees can be waived on a single order for customers with linked SNAP/EBT cards. DoorDash will also waive merchant fees for all partner food banks, pantries, and community organizations.
In addition, DoorDash will donate fresh food, shelf-stable items, and household essentials from DashMart stores to local food banks in affected communities, notes the release.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, DoorDash’s program comes as the ongoing government shutdown threatens to halt SNAP benefits for more than 40 million Americans starting Nov. 1. This includes 21 million children, 16 million working families, and 5 million seniors, the release notes. Food banks are already experiencing high demand, and the pause in federal support could increase the risk of hunger for millions.
Max Rettig, vice president and global head of public policy at DoorDash, said in the release, “No one should go hungry in America — period. Millions of families are worried right now about how they’ll put food on the table. Fighting hunger is core to our mission at DoorDash, and we’re stepping up alongside leading grocers and retailers to help bridge the gap. We know this is a stopgap, not a solution. But doing nothing simply isn’t an option.”
Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger, added, “The food security of millions of people who rely on SNAP is at dire risk. We know that the only viable solution is to ensure SNAP benefits are being delivered in full to those in need of food assistance as soon as possible. We are thankful for the part that companies and organizations across the country like DoorDash can do to try to fill the gap, and we will continue to work tirelessly to make sure SNAP is restored and protected quickly and fully.”
According to the release, DoorDash’s Project DASH program currently partners with more than 300 food banks and pantries nationwide. The program has completed roughly 8 million deliveries, equal to 135 million meals.
The company emphasized that while its Emergency Food Response provides immediate support, federal action is necessary to fully address the potential disruption in SNAP benefits. DoorDash encouraged companies, organizations, and individuals to contribute through donations of food, funds, or time to help communities facing food insecurity.
