To meet the needs of growing food insecurity, Lyft announced it has expanded its partnership with Mastercard, delivering 1 million healthy meals through various nonprofit partners to low-income families and seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At Mastercard, we remain committed to working with our partners to help identify and meet the needs of underserved communities during this uncertain time,” Sherri Haymond, executive vice president, digital partnerships, Mastercard, said. “We are proud to support the LyftUp initiative and enable the delivery of healthy meals and transportation services to those who need it most, while directly impacting and creating opportunity for the driver community.”
Lyft said in response to the pandemic, it activated more than 500 LyftUp partners to provide thousands of free ride credits to those with essential transportation needs, including low-income seniors, families with children, health care workers and more.
In New Jersey, Lyft said it worked with Essex County to deliver nearly 27,000 meals to seniors.
“During these challenging times, regular people and corporations are stepping forward and lending a helping hand to those in need. Lyft has the drivers and logistics in place to help us reach our vulnerable senior population,” Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., Essex County executive, said. “I want to thank Freeholder President Gill for connecting the County with Lyft. This is an example of how government and private business can combine resources for the benefit of our residents.”
Other partners include ATLFamilyMeal in Atlanta, FreshFarm in Washington, D.C., and Seattle World Relief in Seattle.
“Our County leadership has done a tremendous job of coming together to provide services for those in need during the pandemic,” Brendan Gill, Freeholder president, said. “With respect to the provision of food, there are a number of residents who, unfortunately, are unable to attend our weekly Food Distribution events. I thank Lyft for their participation in this much needed service, and I thank our County Administration for working with urgency to bring the project to fruition.”
Lyft said more than 40% of its LyftUp partners have provided access to ride credits to support communities experiencing food insecurity. Nearly a quarter of them support low-income individuals with access to transportation.
“We’re proud to have reached this milestone with Mastercard of facilitating the delivery of 1 million healthy meals to those who need it most during this time,” Lisa Boyd, director of social impact at Lyft, said. “A special thanks to our 10+ partners in the U.S. including Essex County in New Jersey and to all those who drive with Lyft for connecting underserved individuals with essential needs.”
The meals are delivered in part by the LyftUp Community Driver Task Force, a community of more than 120,000 drivers that have signed up for community-oriented trips. All deliveries are contactless, and all drivers are paid.
