eGrowcery Appoints Craig Rosenblum to Board of Directors
eGrowcery, developer of the leading retail food industry e-commerce platform for grocers and other retailers, announced that Craig Rosenblum has joined the company’s board of directors effective immediately. The company also announced Eric Jacobson is transitioning off the board.
“Craig brings a wealth of retail experience and a unique set of skills that will be helpful to our board as we continue to accelerate growth. I’ve known him for many years and have always appreciated his values, his intelligence and ability to help,” said Todd Mitchell, executive chairman of eGrowcery. “At the same time, there are simply not enough words to thank Eric for his tireless support of eGrowcery and the board over the past six year. He has been very helpful, and we have tremendous gratitude for all he’s done for us.”
Pat Hughes, eGrowcery’s CEO, added, “I look forward to working closely with Craig along with the balance of the board. Craig’s experience and expertise will be particularly helpful during this period of growth.”
Rosenblum was most recently vice president of customer success at Inmar Intelligence and previously served as vice president of enterprise retail. He joined Inmar after the company’s acquisition of retail and consumer goods consulting firm Willard Bishop, where he was a partner. His earlier retail industry experience includes vice president of sales at Prescient Applied Intelligence and vice president of business development at Crossmark.
“I’ve been intrigued by eGrowcery for some time. Their reputation in the marketplace is nothing short of excellent. I’ve enjoyed many discussions with Todd, Pat and the team and look forward to assisting the board on this journey,” said Rosenblum.
eGrowcery is the market-leading, white-label, SaaS based eCommerce solution designed to service grocery retailers. The eGrowcery platform is a true end-to-end, omnichannel solution that integrates with back-office/point of sale systems while enabling retailers to personalize their own shopper experience. Serving companies in the United States and abroad, eGrowcery empowers retailers with the ability to personalize their shopping experience while providing the most efficient in-store fulfillment solution in the industry.
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DoorDash Awards $500K+ in Project DASH Impact Grants
DoorDash has awarded more than $500,000 in Project DASH Impact Grants to over 200 food banks, food pantries, and other social impact organizations located in more than 30 states.
Project DASH is DoorDash’s initiative to empower food banks, food pantries, and other social impact organizations to deliver food and essential items to people experiencing food insecurity. Since 2018, Project DASH has powered more than 5 million deliveries of an estimated over 80 million meals.
These grants can be used for any home delivery-related expense, including securing more nutritious food, defraying staff costs, powering more deliveries, or reaching new populations. With this round of funding, DoorDash is continuing to help residents access food in a way that emphasizes convenience and dignity.
“We are extremely grateful to DoorDash for this generous Project DASH Impact grant,” said Julie Yurko, president and CEO at Northern Illinois Food Bank. “These funds will help increase the number of home deliveries from our food pantries and programs like My Pantry Express and ensure our neighbors who lack transportation and accessibility, have access to the nutritious food they need to thrive, with dignity, equity and convenience.”
Across the United States, partners plan to leverage their Project DASH Impact Grants to provide a broader selection of food options and personal care products, serve people more regularly and supplement volunteer home delivery, defray partner staff costs, and deliver to vulnerable populations facing transportation barriers. Some examples of partners leveraging Project DASH Impact Grants to augment their work include:
- the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina growing their reach in rural areas and incorporating delivery into their backpack-based children’s nutrition program, while continuing to serve senior food box recipients; and
- Preble Street in Maine adding fresh produce, culturally appropriate ingredients, and other items in food box deliveries.
“Hugs and Hope extends our heartfelt gratitude to DoorDash for their invaluable support in our mission to broaden our impact through the launch of our ‘Bags of Hope’ Program providing food deliveries for families of children attending Title 1 schools and senior citizens. The deliveries are made on Fridays, ensuring they have sustenance over the weekend when the children are away from school. Thank you for making a difference with us because our partnership is instrumental in spreading not only hope but also an abundance of hugs,” said Jeri Austin, executive director, Hugs and Hope.
“Local delivery of charitable food helps break down barriers to access for seniors, people with a disability, working parents, and other people in local communities,” said Daniel Riff, Head of DoorDash Drive Government & Nonprofit. “We’re excited to help our partners across the U.S. serve more people in innovative ways by providing more than half a million dollars in Project DASH Impact Grants to food banks, food pantries, and other social impact organizations. DoorDash is committed to working alongside our partners and stakeholders across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to continue broadening food access.”
Project DASH empowers social impact organizations—such as food banks and pantries—to work with Dashers and use DoorDash technology to provide local delivery to their communities. These partner organizations determine who receives deliveries, when deliveries will take place, and where the distribution site will be. Dashers complete the deliveries, and recipients receive updates via text message throughout the process.
In 2023, the Urban Institute released a report, Connecting People with Charitable Food through New Home Delivery Partnerships. The report, supported by DoorDash, found that Project DASH has helped alleviate organizational capacity challenges in implementing home delivery, reduced stigma and enhanced convenience, and expanded the communities anti-hunger organizations served, including by connecting hard-to-reach populations with charitable food.
Organizations interested in expanding their existing delivery efforts or learning more about how delivery can enhance their programs can contact the Project DASH team at projectdash@doordash.com.
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Wine & Beverage Summit Returns to CIA at Copia in May
For the first time in four years, the Culinary Institute of America’s Wine & Beverage Summit—a three-day gathering of the beverage industry’s best and brightest—returns to the CIA at Copia May 5-7. Featuring everything from immersive tastings to in-depth dialogue on the state of wine education, innovative career paths, and increasing both business savvy and financial fluency, the conference will welcome recognized wine experts and rising stars alike. It is ideal for junior and mid-level industry professionals looking to grow their knowledge and advance their careers.
“We are thrilled to bring back this incredible event with a focus on professional development,” said Maryam Ahmed, consulting program director. “Attendees can expect a truly enriching experience. Unlike larger conferences where one-way presentations are the focus, this summit was deliberately crafted to be a smaller, more intimate gathering so attendees can interact directly with the presenters and each other during breakout sessions and receptions.”
Among the esteemed beverage experts and presenters are: Emily Wines, certified master sommelier, and vice president of wine experience at Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurant; Erik Segelbaum, founder and chief vinnovation officer at SOMLYAY, LLC; TJ Douglas, CEO and founder of the Drink Progressively Group; and Andrea Robinson, master sommelier, author, and consultant to Delta Airlines and Norwegian Cruise Line.
The Wine & Beverage Summit also serves as one of the residency sites for CIA Wine and Beverage Management master’s degree students, who will attend as part of their program.
For more information or to view the full program schedule for the Wine & Beverage Summit, visit ciabevpro.com.
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking & pastry arts, food business management, hospitality management, culinary science, and applied food studies. The college also offers executive education, certificate programs, and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry and its worldwide network of more than 50,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore. For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu.
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