Home Delivery is the Future, Says Pantry Leader

After seeing clients brace sweltering heat, limited access to bathrooms, and other physical challenges while waiting on pantry lines, The Campaign Against Hunger knew it had to step in.

Just before the pandemic hit, the Brooklyn-based hunger relief agency began investigating ways to deliver groceries directly to the doorsteps of people with physical and other challenges. It created a home-delivery program that has since been through a number of iterations and has its own challenges in terms of cost and resources. But Founder and Executive Director Dr. Melony Samuels sees home delivery as a home run.

I think it’s the wave of the future,” she said. Home delivery is “a futuristic way of working with our community. We’re looking at tackling food injustice in this manner.”

Each week, TCAH carries out 250 to 300 deliveries to eligible clients within a 10- to 20-mile radius of its warehouse. It staffs four vehicles with its own drivers and is about to acquire a fifth vehicle. Many of the details are executed with the help of technology, including route planning software from OptimoRoute, text messaging to notify clients of upcoming deliveries, and digital photos showing the delivered food. “We like to call it the non-profit Amazon,” said Racquel Peters, Chief Development Officer.