"As a Food Pantry, our goal is to get food out to as many families in our community as possible. Although we've been in existence for 16 years, during the pandemic we saw unprecedented numbers of families that needed to get food but could not get out to get it for various reasons. I simply could not keep up with the number of families that would contact us and need food delivered. I tried to recruit drivers and invariably, someone would become sick themselves or couldn't come in to help. I said 'no' to a lot of families that contacted me and it was incredibly sad to me. I contacted the United Way for help. They had just become partners with DoorDash in a brand new program called Ride United.
When our Pantry was chosen to be the first Pantry in our County to partner with Ride United, I was thrilled! We went from delivering to 10 and sometimes 20 families to 70 within a matter of weeks. Delivery is now available to such a degree that the people that need help are actually receiving it. THAT feels amazing. Throughout the week, on the days that our Pantry is not open, when I receive a message from a family that needs food and cannot get to our location, I can now say an emphatic, "YES!" Yes! We can get food to you. Yes! We now have partners who are helping us.
An unexpected bonus of this whole program is the Dashers themselves. We've met some absolutely wonderful people! When the Dashers became aware that we are a Food Pantry and realized that they are getting food to families that could not pay for it, they were really excited! Each of them has been so happy to be a part of it and have that as part of their day. I've had great conversations with so many of them and it has been a real pleasure getting to meet them!"
-Angela Bradley, Stone Creek Food Pantry
