The State Fair of Texas, United Way Dallas’ Southern Dallas Thrives, and Communities Foundation of Texas have collaborated with Atlanta-based Goodr to increase food access in South Dallas.
The initiative launched Saturday with a pop-up grocery store at Fair Park. As part of a pilot program, the Goodr Grocery Delivery Program will supply free groceries to families with limited access to transportation for the next four Saturdays.
Families must preregister for each delivery, which now includes availability for just April 24 (check back for more dates).
Goodr provides fresh produce, meat, shelf-stable items, milk and other beverages. The company’s tagline is “Feed More \\ Waste Less,” and according to their site, “We’ve made it easy to save money, feed more, and waste less through surplus food donation.”
In Atlanta, Goodr partners with companies including Einstein Bros Bagels, Papa John's Pizza and Delaware North, where they rescue food from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Many parts of South Dallas are considered food deserts, meaning residents lack access to healthy food within a 5-mile radius of their homes. In January, we looked at initiatives aimed at alleviating this ongoing problem, including other food distribution models outside of traditional brick-and-mortar grocery stores.
“United Way Metropolitan Dallas’ Southern Dallas Thrives initiative is excited to collaborate with our amazing partners in this work to bring the Goodr pilot to Dallas. Finding innovative ways to address food access-related issues within our Southern Dallas communities is crucial to ensuring that the overall health of Dallas families remains a priority,” says Ashley Douglas, Senior Director of Southern Dallas Thrives, United Way Metropolitan Dallas
Drivers for the service are required to follow pandemic guidelines and are not allowed to enter resident’s homes.