TWIG Video: Food Delivery's Role in Living a Healthier Lifestyle
Get inspired during this episode with Shipt's VP of Economic and Social Impact Khadijah Abdullah. She joined the company in the newly created position a few years ago, ready to prove what she could accomplish in what many considered a “fluff” role.
“My approach essentially became to prove that in our business, we can do both good and well,” Khadijah explains. “That meant that my team and I spend our time regularly with our business partners understanding our business objectives and capabilities, social impact trends, HR insights, consumer insights and that's how we set our strategy in a way that's synergistic to our business.”
And thanks to Khadijah's dedication, Shipt has indeed been intentional in terms of not just doing well as a business but doing good in its community.
One of the initiatives Khadijah is most proud is Shipt's expansion of SNAP EBT to reduce food insecurity and boost access to nutritious foods. SNAP EBT access is just one of Shipt’s actions that are part of the all-important White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.
Another Shipt action is supporting nutrition research by partnering with the University of Michigan to explore the impact of home delivery of healthy foods for people with Type 2 diabetes.
As Khadijah explains, the research demonstrates that when you provide people accessibility to healthier resources, “they're going to make smarter and healthier choices that are actually going to have longer outcomes for their lives."
Shipt is also supporting the community in its own backyard. Khadijah talks about the recently announced investment of $1 million over the next five years to The Birmingham Promise to reduce barriers to funding for college. Part of this investment will go toward launching The Magic City Mentorship program, which is being developed to increase students’ job readiness by pairing them with Shipt team members.
“We recognize that it's not enough to just provide funding,” says Khadijah. “We actually have to match it with mentorship.”
She points out that mentorship has “immensely” impacted her own career. “When I think about mentorship it's not always just about what we give, but it's also what we get back,” says Khadijah. “I think about the power of lifting folks up and not getting too busy because it's easy to just move around and do your work and not recognize that someone's done it for us – and it's our responsibility to do it for others.”
Hear more from this 2024 TWIG honoree by watching complete episode.
Progressive Grocer’s podcast focuses on the trends, topics and interests that move women forward in grocery retail. If you have an idea for a TWIG podcast topic, contact [email protected] and/or [email protected].
