Dive Brief:
- Grocery Connect, a no-fee delivery service powered by Kroger Delivery and nonprofit Bonton Farms, opened its second pickup location in Dallas on July 26.
- The service enables shoppers in South Dallas neighborhoods to order groceries online through Kroger’s app and choose one of Grocery Connect’s two staffed pickup locations.
- A third Grocery Connect center is slated to open in the first quarter with more planned in the future, a Kroger spokesperson wrote in an email.
Dive Insight:
Kroger is using its existing e-commerce infrastructure to help power its fee-free Grocery Connect service focused on boosting food access.
Kroger’s fulfillment center in Southern Dallas allows Grocery Connect to provide shoppers with in-store prices and access to more than 33,000 products, according to the press release.
The new Grocery Connect location at the Dallas Bethlehem Center, located at 4410 Leland Ave., offers weekly pickup windows starting every Friday afternoon, according to the announcement. Grocery Connect’s website notes that the center is also open four days a week.
The centers also help visitors determine if they are eligible for SNAP benefits and assist with the enrollment process.
Grocery Connect orders must total $35 or more and payment can be made with credit or debit cards as well as EBT, per Grocery Connect’s website.
Representatives of Kroger’s Fort Worth-Dallas division made an appearance at the grand opening of Grocery Connect’s newest pickup center, where free food as well as information about how the service works was offered to community members, according to Grocery Connect’s latest Instagram post.
Grocery Connect’s goal is to make “food deserts a thing of the past,” according to the delivery organization’s Instagram.
Grocery Connect’s first pickup center opened in February at the Innercity Community Development Corporation (ICDC) and serves the Frazier and Mill City neighborhoods in South Dallas. Grocery Connect plans to open additional pickup centers and is currently evaluating the results and uptake at existing sites, per Kroger’s email.
