“No one should go hungry in America—period,” said Max Rettig, Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy with DoorDash.
“Millions of families are worried right now about how they’ll put food on the table," he said. "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.”
DoorDash, through its Project DASH initiative, will support over 300 food banks and pantries nationwide in November. The company aims to deliver a million free meals and waive merchant fees for its 300 plus partners.
Additionally, the food delivery service will waive delivery and service fees for approximately 300,000 grocery orders placed by SNAP recipients using their EBT cards at participating grocers, such as Sprouts, Dollar General, Schnucks, Hy-Vee, Giant Eagle, Wegmans, and Ahold Delhaize brands.
DoorDash will also donate food and household essentials from its DashMart convenience store hubs to local food banks in affected communities.
'Well Has Run Dry'
The U.S. Department of Agriculture warns that, unless Congress acts to reopen the government, over 41 million Americans will lose access to food stamps next month. “Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the agency stated on Oct. 25, adding, “there will be no benefits issued" on Nov. 1.In fiscal year 2024, SNAP supported an average of 41.7 million participants per month—about 12.3 percent of the population—and total spending approached $100 billion. The USDA clarified in an Oct. 24 memo that it cannot use emergency funds to continue the program without new appropriations, stating the contingency fund “is not available to support [fiscal year] 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (OMB) has criticized the statement.
“The Administration itself admits these reserves are available for use,” said Sharon Parrott, the OMB president. “It could have, and should have, taken steps weeks ago to be ready to use these funds. Instead, it may choose not to use them in an effort to gain political advantage.”