DMARC Partners with DoorDash to Expand No-Contact Food Pantry Delivery Service

by Joe Dolack, Operations Manager

DMARC’s no-contact home delivery program was fast-tracked out of necessity. With the onset of COVID-19, we needed to adjust our model to meet community members where they were — and a large part of the vulnerable population that we assist were being asked to stay home. We had community health partners asking for food assistance for people needing to quarantine. And even prior to the pandemic, many members of the community had transportation barriers that made it difficult to visit food pantry locations.

There was no question, DMARC needed to meet the need. Not only to help relieve hunger, but to help keep our community safe. Without vaccines, and a healthcare system strained beyond its capacity, there was a fear — and rightfully so — for people to venture out and get food. DMARC became the direct referral for the health systems and health department for those that were in quarantine.

We received an overwhelming amount of support from volunteers and other organizations to help deliver food across the metro, including DART and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa. In addition to volunteer drivers, we also worked with small groups of volunteers to come in and get bags of food packed for delivery. Volunteers are and have been the success of this program. From answering phones, to being the smiling face dropping off bags of food on people’s doorsteps, without our volunteers we would never have been able to keep this program running.

Now, DMARC has a new opportunity to partner with DoorDash, opening up the potential for additional services and removing barriers that still exist. With this new partnership, we will be able to offer evening and same-day deliveries, and are exploring options to extend our delivery area. We are also hoping to add a greater level of choice for people utilizing our delivery program.

Our new partnership with DoorDash is allowing us to refocus the efforts of our volunteers. We are now recruiting additional volunteers to help answer our delivery hotline and guide callers through the intake process.


“One morning a week I take calls for the home delivery service. Food insecurity is a huge issue at this time. Everyone in the community needs to pay attention to this problem and do what they can to change it.” —Rosemary Thierer
The delivery program was just a dream before the pandemic. However, COVID-19 made the “dream” an absolute necessity for our community, and now we are able to continue providing this service into the future.

2 Replies to "DMARC Partners with DoorDash to Expand No-Contact Food Pantry Delivery Service"

  • Heather
    August 16, 2022 (10:57 am)

    On the mobile site I cannot find how to request delivery…

    • lelzinga
      August 17, 2022 (3:18 pm)

      Hi Heather, you can call 1-833-362-7220 between 9am and 12pm, Monday-Friday, to request a delivery. More information can be found at https://www.dmarcunited.org/food/delivery/.