Connecting people and possibility with Farming Hope and Imperfect

By Sueli Shaw, Social Impact Manager

We recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of Project DASH, our initiative to fight hunger and reduce waste by powering deliveries of surplus food from businesses to nonprofits that serve people in need.

We’re proud to spotlight a unique Project DASH community partnership. DoorDash and Imperfect have teamed up to provide donated produce to Farming Hope, a nonprofit organization providing transitional employment and training in the culinary industry to unhoused and low-income people in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Twice per week, Dashers pick up boxes of surplus produce from Imperfect’s warehouse and deliver them to Manny’s, a community space in the Mission District, where Farming Hope’s restaurant program is housed. Seasonal, vegetable-focused menu items like the Imperfect Bowl are prepared by Farming Hope’s apprentices, who face major barriers to employment like homelessness. Restaurant revenue supports Farming Hope.

DoorDash logistics make it possible for the nonprofit to receive these surplus produce donations despite their limited bandwidth and resources. “It’s collective efforts like the one between Imperfect and DoorDash that contribute to the success of community organizations like ours,” says Holden Bussey of Farming Hope.

In 2018, Farming Hope’s 16 apprentices gained over 1,200 hours of on-the-job paid training. We’re grateful to support their programs creating equitable opportunities in local food businesses.

In San Francisco on February 26th? Join us at Manny’s for small plates, a screening, and a panel with some of our partners in the fight against food waste. All proceeds benefit Farming Hope.