WEYMOUTH, ROCKLAND, MA ISSUED JUNE 4, 2024… The Weymouth Food Pantry, with a mission to end hunger in Weymouth, Massachusetts, is thrilled to announce receipt of a $2,500 Project Dash Impact Grant from DoorDash®.
The funding can be used for any home delivery-related expense incurred by the Weymouth Food Pantry – a boon seeing that the organization has seen a dramatic rise in its number of deliveries to those who are homebound in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Our numbers of homebound deliveries has increased significantly – in fact, 156% in the last year – so we are delighted and grateful that DoorDash has stepped up to help us,” said Pamela Denholm, executive director of the Weymouth Food Pantry, noting that the organization initiated its relationship with DoorDash during COVID “as a way to try to get food to people who were housebound or who were sick and couldn’t leave.”
DoorDash delivery has given the food bank increased flexibility with scheduling. “Before we had to schedule volunteers to come in on specific days, so it’s really changed how we are able to serve people for the better,” said Denholm.
Additionally, DoorDash donated an additional $2,500 in DoorDash gift cards, to be given out individuals with specific dietary needs and health or transportation restrictions.
“For example, a woman struggling with cancer who is on a very specific diet can use the gift card to order what she needs when she needs it,” explained Denholm. “These gift cards give us the ability to serve our neighbors with more flexibility and dignity.”
According to Denholm, more than 93,000 pounds of food were home-delivered in 2023, a 230% increase since before the pandemic.
DoorDash has awarded more than $500,000 in Project DASH Impact Grants to over 200 food banks, food pantries, and other social impact organizations located in more than 30 states for any home delivery-related expense.
About the Weymouth Food Pantry
The Weymouth Food Pantry is an independent 501(c)(3) charity providing free groceries to over 4,000 people in Weymouth at any given time. The Weymouth Food Pantry serves between 100 and 250 families per service day, 600 and 800 families each month, and distributes about 830,000 pounds of food per year. The Weymouth Food Pantry offers food assistance and education through a variety of food access, food equity, and health focused programs, including pop-up pantries, grocery delivery to homebound elders and people with disabilities, a dollar-match at the farmers’ market, weekend food bags for students in school, an open access community garden, and “made with love” meals freshly prepared and frozen for easy reheating by neighbors for whom meal prep is a barrier to food security.
The Weymouth Food Pantry was founded in 1987 by a small group of concerned citizens. Its executive office is located at 40E Reservoir Park Drive, Rockland, MA 02370. For more information, please visit www.weymouthfoodpantry.org, email info@weymouthfoodpantry.org, or call 781-331-7682.
