Grocery Connect, a new initiative from Bonton Farms, is offering fee-free delivery of groceries ordered online for pickup at designated, staffed centers in food desert communities of South Dallas.
Powered by Kroger Delivery, the first of three Bonton Farms’ Grocery Connect ordering and pickup points in the community has opened in the South Dallas Fair Park Innercity Community Development Corporation at 4907 Spring Ave.
A second center is set to debut in the spring at the Dallas Bethlehem Center and the third will follow in the fall at Bonton Farms.
The centers will be open when most convenient for the community, including some weekend and evening hours. Grocery Connect staff will help visitors determine if they are qualified for SNAP benefits and assist with enrollment in the program.
“For decades, initiatives have tried to address grocery access in food desert communities with limited success,” said Gabe Madison, president of Bonton Farms.
“Grocery Connect is a nontraditional approach to solving this issue. It places these communities at the forefront of where significant portions of retail grocery shopping is headed and is a model for the eradication of urban food deserts in the U.S.”
Ben Hamilton, VP of e-commerce supply chain and logistics at Kroger Fulfillment, described expanding food access as “core to our mission at Kroger Delivery.”
“Through this collaboration, we are able to deepen those efforts and serve more residents in the South Dallas neighborhood of North Texas,” he said.
Through Kroger’s fulfillment center in South Dallas, Grocery Connect customers will receive the same pricing as in-store shoppers, with access to more than 33,000 products.
“Kroger’s delivery footprint allows us to reach more areas without the time and multi-million-dollar expense of building and maintaining a brick-and-mortar grocery store,” said Keith Shoemaker, president, Kroger’s Dallas Division.
“Our refrigerated fleet will ensure that the groceries arrive fresh and the ice cream will remain frozen, all with no delivery fees for Grocery Connect shoppers.”
A community kickoff event Jan. 30 featured games, snacks, demonstrations and live order pickups.
“The addition of Grocery Connect to District 7, specifically South Dallas, is going to address the immediate needs of so many residents,” said Adam Bazaldua, council member.
“Having the first Grocery Connect pickup point in Fair Park Innercity Community Development Corporation is going to ensure this service is accessible to the residents of District 7. It’s even in the backyard of some of our residents. Food deserts are an active problem we acknowledge and are working to face, and this project is an enormous step in the correct direction.
“I cannot thank Bonton Farms and Kroger enough for investing in this community and working to provide South Dallas with Fresh, affordable, accessible access to groceries.”
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