Domino’s registered charity Give for Good, has been supporting their ‘Feeding the Frontline’ initiative through the first months of the COVID-19 crisis in March and April, and envisages this to continue in the coming weeks and months.

Nick Knight, Domino’s Australia and New Zealand, CEO, explained that, “...as more pressure was put on people in essential services, we wanted to do what we could to help…(and) in partnership with Give for Good to deliver hot meals to the men and women on the frontline…”

“I know a hot pizza can’t change the world, but it’s our way of letting...(them) know we are thinking of them.”

According to the company, it delivered pizzas to more than 44,000 frontline workers across March and April. The definition of ‘frontline worker’ has been a little more broader than might have been expected. The meals have been delivered to “...teachers, supermarket teams, supply chain workers, emergency services, health services, police and those most vulnerable in our communities, including the elderly and homeless.”

Give for Good was established in 2016 as Domino’s registered charity. According to Nick, “We believe it’s our duty to try and improve the communities in which we operate and the people in those communities. Give for Good has a strong giving philosophy that focuses on four key areas including education and youth, disaster relief, rural and remote communities and leadership and entrepreneurship.” 

COVID-19 Safety initiatives came first

In order to continue trading and also delivering food to frontline workers, the company had to ensure the safety of team members and customers, as well as ensuring the community had confidence in that safety. “In addition to our normal, rigorous food safety and hygiene practices, we have implemented a number of safety measures including Zero Contact Pick-Up and Delivery. All frontline pizza drops are delivered using our new Zero Contact practices to ensure the ongoing safety of all.”

Franchise owners forming deeper local connections

While as part of franchise buyer, I am not privy to the precise details of execution of the initiative at the store level, it seems that the company is also assisting their franchise owners with it, to engage at a deeper level in their local communities. It's clearly an opportunity to encourage franchise owners to get out into their local communities, more so than ever before, and develop deeper community connecting roots for even beyond the crisis.

“Our franchisees and team members have been identifying frontline workers in their local communities who could use the support, dropping by unexpectedly with piping hot pizzas to say thank you and to give them one less thing to worry about.” They report that some frontline workers have also been contacting local stores directly.

Nick is clear on the fact that the company will continue to look for ways to provide meaningful support to those who need it most. “We expect this support will change based on the needs of our communities in a post COVID-19 world and we will do everything we can to continue to support our team members, our customers and those communities.”