KING COUNTY, Wash. — King County is home to the largest food bank delivery service in the nation, and it's made possible by a popular food delivery app.
The program, called United Way Home Grocery Delivery, provides free weekly and biweekly groceries to community members in need. The program uses DoorDash drivers to deliver food bank groceries to King County residents unable to get to the nearest food bank.
In August 2022 the program reached a major milestone, surpassing 400,000 deliveries.
“(For) fixed income folks, it’s just difficult,” said Carole, a food recipient who is a mother of 5 and grandmother of 10. “It’s money I don’t have to spend. Getting the food is a godsend.”
DoorDash partnered with the United Way of King County in July 2020. However, the national program called "Project Dash" started nationwide in 2018.
“We recognized that there were people who normally would go to food banks that had either lost their transportation because they lost their jobs, or they were really worried about getting sick, and in some cases getting sick and dying,” said United Way King County CEO Gordon McHenry Jr. about the decision to partner with DoorDash.
In Washington State, about 70% of recipients of the grocery delivery program are in communities of color. Analysis by the University of Washington showed participants in Project Dash were more likely to have children than those who stood in line at a traditional food bank.
“We need more happy people nowadays, especially with the pandemic and inflation,” commented Bryan Rodriguez, a driver for DoorDash who regularly helps United Way Home Grocery Delivery. “Things are so expensive. We need people not to have to worry about putting food on their plate. If I can make money doing that as well as supporting a fellow community member, why not?”
If you’re interested in the program, all you need to do is complete an interest form online and then King County United Way will contact you. You must live in King County and be unable to get to your nearest food bank.
KING 5’s annual Home Team Harvest drive to benefit Northwest Harvest is underway. This year’s goal is to raise 21 million meals.
Ways to donate:
- Online at KING5.com/hometeamharvest
- Text “HOMETEAM” to 41444
- Starting Nov. 1, visit your local Safeway or Albertsons to give $5, $10 or $12 toward grocery cards.
Watch the Home Team Harvest broadcast special on Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. on KING 5, KING5.com and the KING 5 mobile app.