Lyft launches pilot program to have its drivers deliver essential goods to food banks, low income families, healthcare workers and senior living centers during the coronavirus pandemic
- Essential Deliveries is a new pilot program from Lyft
- The program will make Lyft drivers available for bulk delivery of essential goods to food banks, low income communities, healthcare providers and more
- Its currently in testing in 11 US cities and will expand in the coming weeks
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
Lyft has announced a new pilot program that will make its drivers available to pick up and deliver essential goods to a range of local government agencies, healthcare companies, and businesses.
Called Essential Deliveries, the program is currently being tested in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Diego, San Antonio, and Seattle.
So far the program has been used for a variety of tasks, including bringing supplies to food banks, and delivering meals to health care providers at hospitals.
Essential Deliveries is a new program from Lyft that will make its drivers available to help bring bulk essential goods to food banks, health care facilities, and communities in need
Through a partnership with Dole Packaging, the Essential Deliveries program has been used to bring canned goods from the company’s warehouses to assisted living facilities.
Lyft is also working with the Georgia-based non-profit Army of Angels to help deliver lunches to low income families with school age children.
‘While schools are closed, many students go without school breakfast, lunch and dinner,’ Greg Valla, an Advisor with Army of Angels, said in a prepared statement.
‘For a variety of reasons, some are unable to access the school meals being distributed at select schools, and Army of Angels helps bridge the gap,’ said
‘We’re fortunate that Lyft stepped in to deliver food to students and their families who otherwise would simply not be able to eat during this time.’
Lyft says it expects to continue expanding the number of cities Essential Deliveries operates in over the coming weeks.
The Essential Deliveries program is currently operating in 11 US cities, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, and Indianapolis, with plans for further expansion in the coming weeks
The company is planning a number of other projects for the Essential Deliveries program, including working with non-profits like Loaves & Fishes in Charlotte, North Carolina and Urban Recipes in Atlanta to bring donations to local food banks.
In Los Angeles, the company is working with the City Council on several projects, including a plan to deliver care packages to health care workers assembled by local Girl Scouts.
The company is also planning to work with local restaurants to deliver takeout meals from restaurants to communities in need, which could help keep local businesses from going out of business.
‘Surviving this crisis will require innovation on every level,’ said LA City Council member Marqueece Harris-Dawson said.
‘Partnering with Lyft allows us to expand our emergency senior meals program to provide free, healthy meals directly to seniors at their homes, while keeping afloat the small businesses that contribute so much to the financial and culturally vitality of our communities.’
According to Lyft, the Essential Deliveries program is both a way to serve local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and support its drivers with steady income despite the fact that none of them are considered employees by the company.