Impact Programs

Newark Working Kitchens Delivers (NWKD) harnesses the purchasing power of local employers to sustain and grow area restaurants. NWKD is a meal delivery app that allows corporate employees to order lunch from NWK restaurants, with an optional meal match for Newark’s most vulnerable residents. For every meal ordered by its employees, Audible donates a meal to address food insecurity in Newark, and the program continues to preserve and create jobs for cooks, servers and delivery people.

NWKD was born out of Newark Working Kitchens (NWK), which was launched in early April 2020, as Covid-19 shuttered the city’s small businesses, restaurants and office buildings. The goal was to fund area restaurants to cook and deliver nutritious meals to senior, low-income and disabled housing residents who were struggling to access healthy food during the pandemic.

Working with community stakeholders, NWK identified city residents most in need, reaching more than 10,000 residents across 70 locations since launch. As of December 2022, NWK has delivered over 1.5 million meals while helping to keep the lights on at dozens of our most cherished restaurants, keeping cooks, servers and delivery staff employed.

When Covid-19 hit in March 2020, Audible knew it was critical to act fast to support our local restaurants, particularly those we’ve partnered with for our Lunch Out Wednesday program. Audible employees reached out to Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s office and asked how best to support the city, and learned food was an immediate need. We worked closely with the mayor’s office, World Central Kitchen, chef Marcus Samuelsson and community organizations, and three weeks later, NWK was up and running.