Driver overview

As a driver in Surplus, your job is to move food from donors to recipients (or through hubs) by completing a route's stops in sequence. The app guides you through each step.

What drivers do

• Pick up food from donor locations (collections)
• Deliver food to recipient locations (distributions)
• Load food from hub warehouses onto your vehicle
• Unload food from your vehicle into hub warehouses
• Record data — weights, quantities, and products at collection stops

How the app helps

When you open your assigned route, you see an ordered list of stops. The app:

• Shows stop details (address, contact, special instructions)
• Guides you through data entry at each stop
• Prevents completing stops out of order
• Tracks your personal impact over time

Before you go

• Confirm you are assigned to the correct route and understand the stop order
• Bring a vehicle appropriate for the payload, your phone for navigation, and basic supplies (boxes, bags, coolers for cold chain when required)
• If something is unsafe or a donation is not suitable for transport, stop and contact your coordinator — do not guess on food safety

Food safety basics

• Keep cold food cold and hot food hot — use coolers and ice packs when instructed
• Protect food from pets, chemicals, and passengers who should not be in the food area
• If packaging is compromised or product is out of temperature range, document and escalate per your program's policy

Next steps

• Completing a route — walk through a full route from start to finish
• Pickups and deliveries — details on collection and distribution stops