United Way of the CSRA has received $4,300 from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to help nourish neighbors experiencing hunger. The Nourishing our Neighbors grant supports community feeding partners by helping neighbors increase their access to nutritious food and providing nutrition education to eliminate health risks for those experiencing food insecurity. 

This generous gift from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation will be used to bolster United Way of the CSRA's Project DASH program, directly supporting food-insecure households across the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) who are also facing transportation barriers or are homebound due to age or disability. In the CSRA, 48% of families are trying to survive while experiencing financial instability. Of those families, 31% are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households, who are working, yet still struggle to afford basic necessities like food, housing, and childcare. Project DASH is a vital partnership between United Way of the CSRA, Golden Harvest Food Bank, and Door Dash, alongside 15 local food pantries in the CSRA. These partners work together to assist ALICE and impoverished households who cannot get to food pantries by providing free, efficient, and discreet delivery of food directly to the client's home, eliminating transportation barriers. This highly beneficial program has grown rapidly within the last year, and since its inception, Project DASH has successfully provided assistance to 738 people in 286 households via 1,244 Door Dash deliveries, equating to 49,590 total meals delivered this past year, ensuring vulnerable, homebound households receive the nutrition they need to thrive. Every Door Dash driver is paid in full for their work delivering food to our homebound CSRA neighbors, which means that drivers earned income from 1,244 deliveries in this program. This crucial grant from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation helps us to continue and expand this essential program to support our transportation-challenged or homebound ALICE and impoverished families throughout the CSRA.

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation is committed to supporting families facing food insecurity across its 10-state footprint. Established in 2001, the Foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to feeding local neighbors in the communities it serves. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded nearly $25 million in grant funding to help nourish communities with fresh food.