Uber Technologies (UBER) - Get Report has launched a feature of its Uber Eats food delivery app to enable U.S. and Canadian customers for the rest of the year to order from black-owned restaurants with free delivery. Shares of the San Francisco ride-sharing and food-delivery company at last check were up 2.9% to $37.50.
The feature responds to nationwide protests about the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed while in police custody in in Minneapolis.
Customers who open the Uber Eats app in major U.S. and Canadian cities will see a banner reading: "Support Black-owned restaurants."
They're provided with a list of nearby restaurants. Delivery fees for those orders are being waived until the end of the year, the company said.
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Uber employees had compiled the restaurant list based on publicly available sources and with input from local organizations and business associations.
The company said the new food-delivery feature is a response to requests from customers.
Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a Thursday email to U.S. customers that Uber in coming weeks would offer discounted ride-hailing trips to black-owned small businesses that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.
