Uber Pledges Free Food Delivered To Medical Providers

Uber is pledging to deliver free meals to first responders and healthcare workers on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic across the U.S. and Canada.

“We know that the work of medical and crisis response teams can be tireless, and the hours long; we hope we can help in a small way,” Uber said in a statement.

The meals will be delivered to medical workers and first responders in coordination with local, state and provincial governments.

“We’re going to deliver over 300,000 meals for health officials and first responders who are on the front line,” Uber Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai told CNBC in a “Squawk Box” interview. “We’re doing what we can.”

Janelle Sallenave, head of Uber Eats for the U.S. and Canada said in the statement, “We know the coming weeks will be challenging ones for many small business owners, and we want to help restaurants focus on food, not finances. That’s why we’re working to drive increased demand to more than 100,000 independent restaurants across the U.S. and Canada through free delivery and marketing efforts.”

Uber Eats announced it was waiving delivery fees across the U.S. and Canada in an effort to support independent restaurant owners and operators.

“As more customers are choosing to stay indoors, we’ve waived the delivery fee for the more than 100,000 independent restaurants across U.S. & Canada on Uber Eats,” the company said, according to CNBC. “We will also launch daily dedicated, targeted marketing campaigns — both in-app and via email — to promote delivery from local restaurants, especially those that are new to the app.”

The initiatives by Uber are part of a wider package that includes promoting delivery from local restaurants. The ridesharing and meal delivery giant is also offering U.S. and Canadian restaurants using the platform to receive daily payouts, instead of the company’s standard weekly payout.

Uber said it would compensate diagnosed rideshare and delivery drivers and people forced to quarantine. The company said financial assistance will be offered for up to 14 days through April 6.