A local food delivery platform has helped fund more than 1,500 meals for the homeless in Windsor.
The Downtown Mission teamed up with Jubzi Inc. to offer a cheaper alternative to corporate delivery services heading into the New Year.
Executive Director Ron Dunn says the deal saw five per cent of each delivery charge directed to the mission and the partnership has shown a lot of potential in just over a month.
"Every order that goes through that system has provided money towards a hot meal for somebody here at the mission," he says. "It's ending hunger and homeless, we hope, here in Essex County."
Dunn says the service is catching on.
"We had hoped that our donors and the general community would rally," he says. "You're going to order your food anyways, why not use the platform that's helping someone else at the same time."
The service delivered for 28 restaurants when it kicked off in mid December last year.
Dunn says the number of restaurants looking to keep delivery fees local is now approaching 50.
"There's another 50 waiting to get on because there's a menu setup process and those things, but it's such a great partnership," he says. "We're partnering with the restaurants, with Jubzi Inc., and also the customer on the other end."
The owners of Windsor's Sofos Greek Restaurant created Jubzi as an alternative to paying up to 30 per cent to large corporations to deliver food.
Jubzi collects a six per cent charge on top of a tax-deductible five per cent donation to the mission.
The online ordering system is available at www.jubzi.com.
— with files from AM800's Rob Hindi.