Loaves & Fishes Community Services is now offering an online grocery market.
Clients of the food pantry are able to access the market through the Loaves & Fishes website. There they can choose from a variety of fresh produce, dairy products, grains, drinks, personal care products and other grocery items, all free of charge. Shopping can be done at any time of day, offering flexibility to those who may be working multiple jobs or have a hard time going to shop in person due to family or physical constraints.
Once they’ve completed their order, which typically takes between five to ten minutes, the client may pick up their products at Loaves & Fishes new Food Distribution Hub at 580 Exchange Court in Aurora.
Model For Others
The new online model is meant to serve clients at Loaves & Fishes, as well as offer a guideline for those throughout the country hoping to set up a similar site.
“Very importantly, Loaves & Fishes intentionally designed the Online Market software so that any food pantry in the United States could easily use the software for their own clients. While this approach added complication and time to develop the software, Loaves & Fishes believes that collaborating with others has the most impact on meeting the needs of food insecure families,” said Mike Havala, President and CEO of Loaves & Fishes in a press release.
The new shopping model was made possible through community support and a grant from the Thierer Foundation.
Three Options
With the addition of the online market, clients of Loaves & Fishes now have three options for shopping: online, in-person at the Loaves & Fishes market at 1871 High Grove Lane in Naperville, or by getting pre-packaged boxes of food via curbside pick-up at the Food Distribution Hub.
Naperville News 17’s Kim Pirc reports.
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