Uber Eats Wants You to Eat Local

Photo By Megan Lamont

How the food delivery app is helping small businesses

By Megan Lamont

After a long day, cooking isn’t always the best option. When you’re craving takeout, but don’t want to drive and pick it up yourself, food delivery apps can be the way to go. From cheap fast food to your favorite local restaurant, Uber Eats, a popular food delivery app, has many options.

In 2021, Uber Eats announced its Eat Local initiative, through which the company pledged $20 million to support local businesses. Uber Eats enforced free delivery from independent restaurants and extended a 0% commission rate for all pick-up orders to further spread awareness.

Since Covid-19, these apps have been used more than ever as a way to limit exposure to the virus. Small businesses have suffered greatly from the pandemic, with the Long Island Association saying one in six businesses on the Island, including many restaurants, have closed because of the pandemic.

Anna Wiebus, a Hofstra University student from Yarmouth, Maine, delivers for Uber Eats.“When I deliver, it’s definitely a mix of local and chain businesses, but I think I do get more local businesses when I get orders,” Wiebus said. “I honestly don’t even know most of the restaurants I pick up from.”

Since Eat Local started, Uber Eats has taken more steps to help local restaurants. In January, the company announced a new initiative, Grants for Growth, pledging another $1 million.

Since then, Uber Eats released its first merchant impact report, publishing data collected from local restaurants. According to the report, 95% of merchants from single, local, independently owned businesses reported that working with Uber Eats helped their business during the pandemic. Some 80% of merchants from that same group reported they were more profitable with Uber Eats than without it.

“I think that the support local pledge that Uber Eats made is a really awesome thing,” Wiebus said, adding that it is something she can “definitely see in action” when she drives.

With such a diverse population, Long Island has restaurants that celebrate many cultures, support different diets and appeal to a variety of palates.

“They have hundreds of options for restaurants and add more very frequently,” Wiebus said. “I think it’s really awesome for the community and local restaurant owners.”

“I THINK I DO GET MORE LOCAL BUSINESSES WHEN I GET ORDERS.”

- Anna Wiebus

Uber Eats driver