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- DoorDash offers emergency response to SNAP crisis (thehill.com)
DoorDash Steps Up with “Emergency Food Response” as SNAP Benefits Face Cuts
[CITY, STATE] – As millions of Americans face the looming expiration of food assistance benefits this Saturday, DoorDash is launching an “emergency food response” to help bridge the gap for those in need. The food delivery giant announced Sunday that it will be waiving fees for various services and donating food in an effort to combat rising food insecurity.
The company’s initiative includes waiving merchant fees for its partner food banks, food pantries, and community organizations, a move expected to impact an estimated 1 million meals next month. Additionally, DoorDash will waive delivery and service fees for approximately 300,000 grocery orders placed by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in the coming month, alongside donating food and essential items to food banks nationwide.
Max Rettig, DoorDash’s vice president and global head of public policy, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “No one should go hungry in America – period,” Rettig stated in a release.
“Millions of families are worried right now about how they’ll put food on the table.” He acknowledged that while this is a “stopgap, not a solution,” he stressed that “doing nothing simply isn’t an option.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees SNAP, has cautioned that over 40 million low-income beneficiaries are set to miss out on an estimated $8 billion in scheduled benefits for November.
Despite possessing between $5 billion and $6 billion in SNAP contingency funding, the USDA stated in a Friday memo that these funds are restricted to unforeseen events like natural disasters. This contradicts a previous, now-deleted, shutdown plan from September 30 that suggested congressional intent supported using contingency funding for SNAP benefits during a shutdown.
States, which operate their own SNAP programs in partnership with the federal government, are also sounding the alarm. Texas, Florida, and New York are among multiple states that have warned residents about the impending lapse in benefits, highlighting the significant impact this will have on vulnerable communities.
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- DoorDash offers emergency response to SNAP crisis (thehill.com)