The Food Sector Uplifts Customers & Staff with Disabilities
There are 1.3bn people around the world who identify as having a disability. For Rich Donovan, the CEO of The Return on Disability Group, it is the world’s largest emerging market. He says that employing people with disabilities can’t be a PR exercise anymore.
“You are not going to convince every company,” he accepts. “I think that’s the biggest realisation for me: You don’t have to convince everyone. You just have to convince the best.”
Goal 8 of the UN Sustainability Goals proposes: "By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value".
The food sector is doing its part to achieve this goal.
Conagra Brands recognised as leader in disability inclusion
Conagra Brands is known for Birds Eye, Healthy Choice and Slim Jim. The company has been recognised as one of the "Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion" by The Disability Equality Index®, a benchmarking tool for Fortune 1000 scope companies which measures disability workplace inclusion from within their organisation .
The 2024 Disability Equality Index measured:
- Culture & leadership
- Enterprise-wide access
- Employment practices
- Community engagement
- Supplier diversity
- Responsible procurement
"When employees experience inclusion, we all perform better," said Brenna McCauley, leader of the Conagra Brands Disability+ Ally Employee Resource Group. "At Conagra Brands, we're committed to providing all employees with safe, accessible spaces across our organisation. It's an honour to be recognised by Disability:IN and the AAPD for doing just that."
"Dedication to fostering inclusive workplaces not only attracts top talent but also drives innovation and creates sustainable performance in today's global market,” added Jill Houghton, President and CEO of Disability:IN. “Together, we are creating a future where everyone can contribute and thrive."
DoorDash offers nutritional food security for people with disabilities
On the other side of this, the food industry is also working to make itself more accessible to everyone, while reducing reliance on unhealthy food options and food insecurity.
DoorDash originated from feedback on a mobile app for small business owners at Stanford University. Now, DoorDash is a leading technology company connecting consumers with local businesses from its base in San Francisco. DoorDash aims to revolutionise local commerce through technological innovation, offering services beyond food delivery, including grocery and convenience store deliveries.
The company has become the largest food delivery platform in the US with a 56% market share and just made the 2024 Fortune 500 list.
DoorDash recently published its findings on how food delivery helps consumers with disabilities access the nutritious meals that they need.
Key findings included:
- 42% of consumers with a disability, or chronic illness, said that one of the main reasons they use a delivery platform to order a meal, is because they have mobility issues which prevent them from cooking, or the physical effort is too much to take on.
- 21% said that without the delivery, they would most likely skip a meal all together or just eat snacks, almost twice as likely as other consumers.
- 73% of parents added that DoorDash delivery made them feel less stressed and anxious about providing for their family.
A notable DoorDash project is Project DASH, a partnership with local food security organisations that has delivered over 15m meals.
The USDA’s annual Household Food Security in the United States report has shown that food insecurity for families across the USA increased in 2023, to 13.5%, the highest level in nearly a decade.
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