Impact Programs

Innovative + Measurable

We develop our impact programs in collaboration with our local communities as we look to incubate innovative, scalable and sustainable solutions that advance economic development in our hometown and beyond.

Newark Working Kitchens (NWK) is one such example. Funded and led by Audible, NWK supports Newark’s restaurants in staying open and generating sustained value for businesses, workers, and the city.

Newark Working Kitchens Impact

$1M+

Over $16M+ infused into the local restaurant economy.

1+

Over 1.6 million meals delivered to date.

1

Meal delivery working with 70 community partners.

1+

Over 45 restaurants supported, sustaining hundreds of jobs.

Newark Working Kitchens

Newark Working Kitchens (NWK) offers a range of support for restaurants, including technical assistance and consultation for restaurant owners, emergency grant assistance, and subsidized meals and discount incentives for employees and community members to dine at participating businesses. NWK equips restaurants with the critical resources and support they need to succeed, generating income and growth.

Newark Working Kitchens has helped sustain important jobs and small businesses, while providing vital nutritional assistance to underserved communities. This effort has created a successful model to support the tremendous comeback our city is undertaking, and I hope to see this effort scaled in New Jersey and nationwide.

Cory BookerUnited States Senator

NWK in the Press

Set against a red background, "Newark Working Kitchens" is staggered in black text and "Delivers" is below in white. Other illustrations of bags, biker, plates, utensils and buildings are surrounding it.

NBC New York profiles how the innovative NWK model pays local restaurants to feed residents in need.

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Cook in the kitchen.

NJBIZ features the NWK program and Audible as “one of the most highly regarded corporate citizens” in its 2022 list of companies to watch.

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Marcus Samuellson and Don Katz sitting in chairs on stage.

Audible Founder Don Katz and chef Marcus Samuelsson were featured at the Montclair Film Festival, where they discussed storytelling, community, food, and the NWK program.

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Three mobile phones display different stages of meal ordering in the NWK Delivers App.

The NWK Delivers app launches, continuing to support local restaurants and jobs, while enabling corporations to directly invest in the resilience of their city.

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Chef cutting apples on a green cutting board.

Fast Company explains how the NWK Delivers app continues to support local restaurants by leveraging the return to work of Newark corporations.

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Teal background with words saying, "Greater Good Awards," plus the logos for Digiday, Glossy and ModernRetail.

Audible won Digiday’s Greater Good Award, being honored for its community programs including NWK, which demonstrate how a company can create scalable strategies to address global and local issues.

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Cook in the kitchen.

Fast Company named Audible a finalist for its World Changing Ideas Award, recognizing NWK as an innovative program that helps create positive change.

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Headhsots of Don Katz and Marcus Samuelsson.

In an op-ed for Fortune magazine, Audible founder Don Katz and chef Marcus Samuelsson discuss how corporations can help local restaurants survive and spur city-wide recovery.

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The Journey of NWK

NWK was launched in early April 2020, as Covid-19 shuttered the city’s small businesses, restaurants and office buildings. We 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. 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, NWK has delivered over 1.6 million meals while keeping the lights on and cooks, servers and delivery staff employed at dozens of our most cherished restaurants.

The next iteration, Newark Working Kitchens Delivers, harnessed the purchasing power of local employers to sustain area restaurants, offering subsidized food delivery choices to corporate employees with a critical meal match for Newark’s most vulnerable residents.

Investing in these community staples creates long-lasting and sustained value for businesses, workers, and the city.

NWK in Action

Person holding to-go container filled with salad, with a red NWK Delivers logo.

Until workers return to the office, my restaurant’s survival will depend on programs like Newark Working Kitchens Delivers.

Mike EldeedOwner of Pita Square

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