Visit our Impact Hub to learn how Project DASH has evolved and grown since we first launched the initiative in 2018.
By David Kastelman, Business Operations Manager (SF), Andrew Susanto, Operations Associate (LA), Elle Pak, Strategy and Operations Manager (NY)
We’re thrilled to kick off Project DASH (DoorDash Acts for Sustainability and Hunger), our new initiative focused on tackling the problems of hunger and food waste in the local communities we serve. The average restaurant has 100,000 pounds of excess food every year¹ but only 1.4% of that is donated; 78% of restaurants cite transportation as a barrier to donating more food, making last-mile logistics the most frequently cited roadblock to increased food rescue.² Leveraging DoorDash’s passionate employees, last-mile logistics technology, and a network of millions of Consumers, hundreds of thousands of Dashers, and tens of thousands of Restaurant Partners across more than 600 cities, Project DASH consists of the following:
1:1 Meal Donation: DoorDash will donate one meal through the Feeding America® Charity for every order placed on DoorDash’s website, Android, or iOS app through the month of January.³ To amplify this effort, DoorDash will leverage the company’s national merchant footprint and invite one Restaurant Partner each month to join us in the “one-meal for one-meal” initiative in 2018, with plans to extend further in the future. One in eight Americans faces hunger, and this meal match will ensure that Feeding America® is able to help more families and individuals put food on their tables.⁴
WeDash For Good: Since DoorDash launched four and a half years ago, employees have “dashed” each month in an effort to keep employees connected to the experience of Customers, Dashers, and Restaurant Partners. Moving forward, all funds earned in this effort will be donated to Feeding America® to further our partnership.
Reducing Food Waste: DoorDash will introduce a pilot program that pairs the company’s logistical expertise with Feeding America® Charity’s MealConnect system. MealConnect serves as a hub for food donations, linking surplus food with local nonprofits that can use it to feed those in need. DoorDash will use one of its core competencies — specifically DoorDash Drive, the enterprise-fulfillment arm of the business — to help bring surplus food to local food banks through the MealConnect system. The integration of DoorDash Drive with Feeding America®⁶ Charity’s MealConnect program brings together the nation’s foremost platform for fulfilling on-demand delivery requests with the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. A special thanks to the DoorDash employees who began piloting food donations at the August 2017 Hackathon⁵: Christina Zhang, Dawn Lu, Kevin Fu, Joseph Oh, David Emanuel, Jen Zink, Rachel Marincola, Hilary Brown, Usman Gul, and Bret Hamilton. A debt of gratitude to the restaurants and food pantries that have so far participated in piloting food donation including: Bodhi Bowl, Eataly, KaynDaves, BiiBiip Mediterranean, Feast From The East, Veggie Grill, The Midnight Mission, Westside Food Bank, World Harvest Food Bank, and the Sylvia Rivera Soup Kitchen. And, as always, a huge thank you to the Dashers who have fulfilled these important deliveries and who make it all happen on the DoorDash platform each and every day.
Please join the effort! Are you a restaurant interested in donating surplus food? Email projectdash@doordash.com for more information.
¹ Goldberg, E. (2017). Restaurants Officially Have No Excuse Not To Donate Leftover Food.
² Business for Social Responsibility. (2014). Analysis of U.S. Food Waste Among Food Manufacturers, Retailers, and Restaurants
³ $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local member food banks.
⁴ Semega, J.L., K.R. Fontenot, and M.A. Kollar. (2017). Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016. U.S. Census Bureau.
⁵ Find out more about what a Hackathon is or how they work at DoorDash here.
⁶Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
