​About
Delivering with Dignity, supported by Lieutenant Governor Kate Marshall, the United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra and local community partners launched in Reno-Sparks on May 4, 2020, as an emergency response to the healthcare and economic crisis created by the novel coronavirus to help the most vulnerable and isolated individuals. Through partnerships with locally-owned restaurants, leading nonprofit agencies, and private corporations, the program delivers meals directly to the doorsteps of residents, keeps dozens of restaurant staff employed.
“It is my honor and pleasure to help bring hope and relief in the form of fresh, warm meals to the lives of our most vulnerable populations in Northern Nevada,” said Lt. Governor Marshall. “I’d like to extend a special thank-you to our volunteers, nonprofit partners, participating local restaurants and supporters who helped make this program a reality for the Reno-Sparks community.”
Simultaneous to feeding those in need, Delivering with Dignity is supporting the economically devastated restaurant industry by providing supplemental revenue through the meal program.
“Serving those in need during these unprecedented times with fresh, hot food from locally-owned restaurants is undoubtedly a win-win situation,” said Chef Mark Estee, Restaurateur and Delivering with Dignity partner. “Those of us representing the participating local restaurants cannot wait to see the invaluable impact Delivering with Dignity will have on both these vulnerable populations and food service workers.”
Delivering with Dignity works with nonprofit partners to identify individual recipients who need the program based on “Triple Threat” criteria: 1) At highest risk for COVID-19 per CDC guidelines; 2) Ineligible or not served by any community organization for the provision of food to their homes; 3) Financially unable to meet their food needs without leaving their home, and do not have a reliable support system of friends or family to assist.
Each delivery can feed recipients for three days and meals are delivered by “Food Hero” volunteers who abide by strict health and social distancing guidelines and follow routes developed by groundbreaking food delivery logistics technology from Copia, a San Francisco-based technology & logistics company whose infrastructure redistributes edible excess food to shelters and food pantries in 270 cities to reduce hunger and food waste across North America.
Program leaders ask community members to support the effort through financial contributions and by becoming Food Hero volunteers.
Delivering with Dignity was co-founded in Las Vegas by Punam Mathur, Executive Director of the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation; Julie Murray, President of The Moonridge Foundation and Moonridge Group; renowned restauranteur Elizabeth Blau, Blau and Associates; and technology partner Copia in collaboration with Clark County Commission Chair Marilyn Kirkpatrick and United Way of Southern Nevada.
