By Sandra MacMartin, Public Affairs Specialist, Midwest Regional Office with guest author Olivia Rodriguez, Outreach and Communications Manager, Top Box Foods
Top Box Foods is not a grocery store, farmers market, or food bank. Top Box Foods is a community-driven non-profit, founded in Chicago in 2012, that creates access to healthy and affordable food for the communities they serve. Customers place orders online or via phone for nutritious food which is offered at prices up to 40% lower than grocery stores. Prior to March 2020, Top Box Foods shoppers would pick up their orders at community distribution sites such as churches. However, when the pandemic hit, Top Box Foods replaced the pick-up model with their free home delivery program. Top Box Foods accepts SNAP benefits as payment for orders, making it an essential resource for households looking to make the most of their SNAP dollars to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and more.
“When I was a kid, I could walk to the grocery store. One of the things I remember the most is that I was always inundated with the different smells of fruits and vegetables. You don’t get that anymore. The deli across the alley doesn’t have fruits or vegetables, and the nearest grocery store closed,” explained Top Box Foods customer Cassandra while receiving a delivery at her home in the summer of 2022.
Cassandra, a Top Box Foods shopper since 2014, previously picked up her boxes at her local church, but leg injuries made getting to and from home with a load of groceries difficult. “I was praying for home delivery, and these deliveries help me out a lot. I get all my produce from Top Box,” she shared.
In order to provide nutritious food for all, we need to think creatively and work with one another – just like Top Box Foods did when they started delivering groceries right to Cassandra’s door. The work of Top Box Foods aligns with pillar 1 of the national strategy by improving food access and affordability in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision of a country where no one wonders whether they will have enough money to put food on the table, and where the healthy food choice is the easier choice. Food and nutrition security for all is within our reach.
Top Box Foods has locations in Chicago, Rockford (IL), New Orleans, Baton Rouge and soon, Atlanta.