Food Bank and DoorDash partner to address food insecurity

The Food Bank of Delaware and DoorDash have partnered to address food insecurity among homebound residents

Recently, Food Bank of Delaware and DoorDash announced an expanded partnership to deliver free meal boxes to food-insecure residents of Kent and Sussex Counties. A local Dasher made the ceremonial first delivery to a downstate resident this morning on May 26.

“This partnership allows people to order boxes of shelf-stable pantry staples and produce using DoorDash,” Kim Turner, Communications Director for the Food Bank, said. “There is no fee for delivery and our goal is to be able to provide delivery to every Delawarean who is homebound, lacks transportation or cannot get to a food pantry as we expand this program.”

Since 2018, DoorDash’s Project DASH has empowered community organizations to leverage DoorDash logistics to increase food access in their communities and has powered more than 1.8 million deliveries of over an estimated 33 million meals. The Food Bank of Delaware has partnered with Project DASH since June 2021 to provide convenience and dignity for food-insecure clients in New Castle County.

“We are thrilled to announce an expansion of this important home delivery program in partnership with DoorDash to residents of Kent and Sussex Counties,” said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Cathy Kanefsky. “We know that so many in our community are struggling to make ends meet. Far too many of our neighbors in need are homebound, lack transportation, have unreliable transportation or can’t afford gas to get out to a food pantry. This creative partnership allows us to better serve some of our community’s most vulnerable, but more importantly, it allows us to deliver a little bit of hope.”

Thanks to the new partnership, residents who live within a 15-mile radius of the Food Bank of Delaware’s Milford branch will be able to go online, select from a variety of meal boxes and a bag of produce, and place an order for a free delivery. A DoorDasher will deliver the food within the hour. To place an order, visit please visit www.fbd.org/home-delivery. The program is also available at the Newark Food Bank location as well as St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Wilmington.

“We are honored to partner with the Food Bank of Delaware on this expansion of our work to help broaden food access in the state,” said Chad Horrell, Senior Manager, Local Government Relations, DoorDash. “Local delivery has been critical in supporting food banks and food pantries provision of food and other essentials while emphasizing convenience and dignity. We’re excited to continue growing this work in a sustainable way for our food bank and food pantry partners across the country to continue to meet the ongoing need.”

Shelf stable pantry items ready to be delivered by DoorDasher

To reach more residents of Kent and Sussex Counties, the Food Bank of Delaware is currently looking for more community-based food pantries to serve as DoorDash delivery hubs. The Food Bank will train organizations on the technology to receive orders and ensure that the pantry is stocked with meal boxes for the program. For more information about becoming a hub, please contact Michael Zeltt, Food Distribution Director, at (302) 292-1305 Ext. 222 or [email protected].

“With so many of our residents struggling with food insecurity, this is an excellent opportunity to help further combat that issue,” said State Senator Dave Wilson. “This is a great day for Milford and the Food Bank of Delaware. Thank you to Door Dash for partnering with the Food Bank to help make this possible.”

“This partnership leverages existing technology and resources in a unique way to produce a new service that will benefit our most vulnerable citizens,” said State Rep. Charles Postles (R-Milford North).  “I am enthusiastic about the possibilities this venture holds for helping our community and I applaud the Food Bank of Delaware and DoorDash for their innovative collaboration.”

In addition to generous start-up grants from DoorDash, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Nemours have also made generous contributions to the Food Bank’s new home delivery program.