The Online
Food Pantry System

Today this state-of-the-art online food pantry system is known as Market, and it’s operated by our partners at Met Council. This efficient system allows people to choose the food they want with a sensitivity to their health needs and cultural preferences. When so much feels out of control, the ability to maintain choice provides an element of normalcy – which is crucial to people's emotional wellbeing.

Market has been lauded by the Harvard Business Review and is serving as a model for cities nationwide. People can even request non-food social services like benefits or legal assistance, which connects them to case workers who are ready to help.

THE ONLINE FOOD PANTRY SYSTEM IN ACTION

Eva*, a 79-year-old widowed Holocaust survivor, recently lost her only son and daughter-in-law. Despite her own grief and very limited income, she now supports her grandson who is suffering from depression after losing both of his parents. As a young child, Eva fled Nazi persecution with her mother, enduring horrific circumstances and surviving with little food. She lived out the remainder of the war in freezing conditions with several families living together in one room.

As a participant in the online food pantry system, Eva regularly meets with a social worker who checks in on her emotional health as well as on her basic needs. Eva now receives customized food packages to supplement her limited income, which eliminates the long wait in line at the local food pantry and the trigger of traumatic memories of food insufficiency. Being able to choose the food that meets her needs has provided Eva with tremendous relief. She now knows that she and her grandson will not go hungry, and with people in her community looking out for their wellbeing, she’s not alone. 

*Name changed to maintain privacy

FEATURES

For many people grappling with poverty, the world feels out of control. Being able to choose food through the online food pantry system provides a sense of normalcy that is crucial to people's emotional wellbeing.

The online food pantry system works around people’s schedules. Clients can pick up their customized packages at one of 43 local network food pantry sites or have it delivered directly to their homes.

People enrolled in the online food pantry system can also learn about healthy eating, set up a meeting with a nutritionist, and find recipes and information about healthy lifestyle choices.

The online pantry system connects people to social workers who can help people break the cycle of poverty holistically. From job training to legal assistance to domestic violence intervention, people have access to multiple supports and opportunities once they sign up.