In March of 2020 – about two months after the first COVID-19 case was reported in the U.S. – United Way of King County responded by working with local partners to connect households to free home grocery deliveries.

Six years later, United Way’s Home Grocery Delivery Program has reached one million deliveries to our neighbors throughout King County. While our area’s food insecurity concerns were exacerbated during the pandemic, many factors, such as SNAP cuts, rising living costs, and higher food prices, continue to worsen food insecurity for many households. Because of this, we continue to invest in one of the country’s largest food bank delivery programs.  

Through trusted community partnerships and delivery logistics support from DoorDash and Amazon, local households receive groceries delivered directly from food banks at no cost. The program is designed to be simple and low-barrier, reducing stigma for families and ensuring that they have groceries every week.

“What started as an emergency response to COVID-19 has now evolved into permanent infrastructure,” said Cheyenne Stolmeier, United Way Food Security Program Manager.

“We quickly realized that there were so many reasons beyond COVID-19 risks that might be barriers to accessing a food bank in person,” Stolmeier added. :This could be lack of transportation, lack of childcare, or work schedules that conflict with food bank hours, among other things. Home Grocery Delivery removes those barriers and has become a core part of a modernized emergency food system.”

The program grew quickly, reaching over 3,000 enrolled households by December 2020 and now serving nearly 6,000 households.

Behind the numbers are real people who turned to the Home Grocery Delivery Program when they needed extra support:

• An 83-year-old who lives on her own in Lake Forest Park, where there is no formal food bank in the area. Unable to drive and living on Social Security checks that scarcely make ends meet, she says that without the free food deliveries, she might not have anything to eat on some days.
• A woman in Auburn who turned to our Home Grocery Delivery Program while she was in college and unable to work a full-time job. The Home Grocery Delivery Program helped her stretch her finances further while in school.

As the program has shifted from a COVID relief effort to a long-term effort, United Way has worked with partner food banks to share more responsibilities. Those food banks now manage client enrollment and communications directly and work closely with delivery partners. Since January, our partners have helped increase the program’s enrolled clients from 5,300 to more than 5,900.

“I’m so grateful to be a part of the home delivery program,” said Courtney Mellberg, executive director of the Highline Area Food Bank in Burien. “It’s hard for folks to get to a food bank for many reasons, so we have to do what we can to meet people where they’re at. I’m lucky to have the support of UWKC to help us remove barriers to service for families and individuals who rely on our assistance. Cheers to a million deliveries and counting!”

To learn more about our Home Grocery Delivery Program, click here.