By David Downey | Contributing Writer

Targeting the growing struggle for many to put food on the table, Riverside officials are teaming up with DoorDash to boost home meal deliveries in the Inland Empire’s largest city.

Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson announced at a Wednesday, Nov. 2, news conference a partnership with the online company to deliver food door to door. Leaders of community organizations and a company official joined her.

Lock Dawson said Riverside is the first city to partner with DoorDash on a company initiative called Project DASH that launched in 2018 and has delivered more than 50 million meals in the United States and Canada.

DoorDash plans to share delivery data with the city to help identify areas of need, a news release states. Also, the city is working to connect DoorDash with local nonprofit groups that help those who are hungry.

“Food insecurity is all too real an issue here in Inland Southern California,” Lock Dawson said, and the partnership will help ensure that many families have enough to eat.

“This program creates a more dignified pantry experience by reducing the stigma of seeking a helping hand, by increasing food security and by eliminating transportation barriers,” she said.

Riverside is part of a sprawling region where many families are considered to be food insecure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines that as being unable to put adequate healthy food on the table at times for all the members of a household.

Data from 2019 estimate that more than 13% of residents of Riverside and San Bernardino counties were food insecure. That compares to national and statewide averages of about 10%.

The recent soaring inflation has put more pressure on families.

In July, the two-county region recorded the second-highest inflation rate – 9.2% – among the nation’s metropolitan areas. Food prices rose even faster year over year, by about 11% overall and by as high as 18% for bread.

At the same time, parts of the region – and Riverside – are classified as food deserts because people live more than a mile from a grocery store. In some areas, stores are miles apart.

Amid the growing financial pressure, organizations have reported surges in the number of people seeking food.

The news conference was at the Community Settlement Association’s food distribution center on the city’s Eastside.

Ninfa Delgado, of the association, called the DoorDash-city pact an “innovative tool” for addressing nutritional needs.

“This partnership has been a game changer,” Delgado said.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, she said, the organization focused on providing food for pickup at its distribution center.

In April 2020, the association introduced deliveries for older people who needed to reduce their exposure to the virus, Delgado said. Through the DoorDash arrangement, the association has multiplied deliveries to the elderly, she said.

Delgado said the group also now is offering a home-delivery option to other clients, as an alternative to standing in line on hot days or in chilly, rainy weather to pick up food at the center.

Donna Sautia, CEO of Lighthouse of Hope Foundation in Riverside, said the partnership has helped her organization reach more people, too.

Sautia said she founded the group during the early part of the pandemic, in 2020.

“The vision of Lighthouse started with me filling Ziploc bags full of beans and rice for the community family members that are in need,” Sautia said. “We started with 10 bags, then it grew to 100, then to 1,000, as the need in our community became more and more apparent.”

Sautia said the organization distributes groceries through its food pantry three days a week.

“Now with this new partnership we have been able to do so much more,” she said.

Lighthouse of Hope is offering food delivery to families who live within 10 miles, Sautia said.

In the past five weeks, she said, the group has delivered more than 500 bags of groceries.

“The need is great,” she said.

Caitlin Gillis, who directs strategy and operations for DoorDash, said food banks and food pantries “have always played a vital role in our society. And that was really heightened during the pandemic.”

Gillis said combining that role with DoorDash’s logistical expertise is a “transformational solution” that allows people to receive food “in a safe, reliable, dignified and convenient way.”