When DoorDash first announced its Project DASH charity effort that was borne out of a company hackathon last year, it was a nice goodwill moment for the industry. But it had the sheen of one of those tech-giant features that make for some nice PR and a tax write-off but wouldn’t actually do much.
Cynical editors be damned, though, as Project DASH (which stands for DoorDash Acts for Sustainability and Hunger) has become a monumental goodwill effort that put some real substance behind a nice idea.
So far, Project DASH has delivered some real tech efficiency for charity partners across the country by plugging their efforts into DoorDash logistics. Since launching in 2018, Project DASH has completed more than 15,000 deliveries and brought more than 1 million pounds of food from foodservice businesses to hunger-relief nonprofits.
According to DoorDash, that adds up to 830,000 meals with some nice sustainability perks to boot. With that amount of food, the effort has reduced 340,000 pounds of carbon dioxide or the amount produced by about 11,000 homes each day.
The company also announced last month a partnership with Feeding America, to further push the organization’s efforts with a $1 donation for every DoorDash delivery order between September 17 and September 30.
“We’re honored to stand with Feeding America during Hunger Action Month,” said Sueli Shaw, head of social impact at DoorDash. “We hope to raise awareness of this critical issue and get our customers involved by inviting them to help us provide 1.5 million meals through Feeding America.”
Last-mile delivery for partner restaurants was a big pain point for restaurants that had food waste and charities that were in search of food donations. DASH attempts to bridge that gap with drivers, who are paid as if they were delivering a typical order. Though instead of the consumer and the restaurant sharing the fee, the company gives charities grants, which are used to pay for the deliveries. So, sure, it still sounds like a tax dodge, but an altruistic one.
The company partners with many national and local hunger relief bodies, including Copia, Replate, Transfernation, Urban Gleaners and 412 Food Rescue.
