Everything we do at DoorDash is in the spirit of bringing communities together, one doorstep at a time. From broadening food access via Project DASH to our work supporting merchants — including the $1 million Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund and our Main Street Strong Accelerator program — these efforts help tackle the problems faced in our local communities.
In recognition of this work, we're proud to share that DoorDash was recently named one of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies of 2022.
Reaching more people in rural and low-income communities
In 2021, we increased affordability and accessibility for more consumers, communities, and Dashers across our platform. We expanded our footprint in low-income and rural communities to reach more people in need of food and local goods, while offering the flexibility to earn and re-invest those earnings.
Approximately 37% of DoorDash users within the U.S. were located in low-income communities, and another 30% were located in rural communities — increasing choice and convenience for people in more areas.
There are tens of millions of people that are good candidates for flexible earning opportunities like dashing. Over the course of 2021, DoorDash provided opportunities for over six million individuals, including those who live in rural areas that have historically lagged behind urban areas in economic growth. In rural communities within the U.S., Dashers earned over $3.1 billion in 2021. Further, in low-income communities within the U.S., Dashers earned over $4.3 billion, contributing meaningfully to these local economies.
Broadening access in local communities
Since 2018, DoorDash's flagship social impact program, Project DASH has helped broaden access to food through local deliveries. During the pandemic, access to food and supplies became even more challenging for seniors, the immunocompromised, and those facing mobility or transportation challenges.
Through Project DASH, we provided an estimated 31 million meals to people in need, and powered more than 1.6 million deliveries of groceries, household goods, school supplies, and more. We are committed to working with existing and new partners to grow this work sustainably in the coming years in order to increase its reach and the number of communities it serves.
Just getting started
Looking forward, we are working to operate DoorDash with less relative environmental cost, while building programs that work for merchants, Dashers, consumers, and the environment. In 2021, we became net-zero across our scope 1 and 2 emissions globally by investing in clean energy purchases and carbon removal. You can read more about how we're working to reduce the environmental impact of delivery in our Earth Day blog post, here.
While we are proud of the results we've driven thus far, we recognize there is still much to be done to support our stakeholders. We're committed to embodying our values, working to be 1% better every day, and continuing to expand the initiatives we operate to serve and empower more communities.
To learn more about our impact efforts over the last year, you can view our first ESG Report here.
