Mid-Ohio Food Collective debuts refrigerated lockers for free 24-hour grocery pickup

Danae King, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·3 min read

Some families in central Ohio may find it hard to get to a local food pantry during when they are open, which is one of the reasons the Mid-Ohio Food Collective is launching a new way to get fresh food, no matter the hour.

The collective announced Tuesday that it is launching new refrigerated food lockers at its Market at Norton Road on Columbus' Far West Side. The lockers will allow customers to pick up their food when it's convenient for them.

“When healthy food options are convenient, more people can use and benefit from them. The result is better health outcomes for the community," Mid-Ohio Food Collective President and CEO Matt Habash said in a statement.

Brad Draper, Senior Vice President of Operations for the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, on Tuesday demonstrates the new 24-hour food lockers available at the 620 Norton Road food center. Draper said the lockers will be especially helpful to people who work nights and weekends.
Brad Draper, Senior Vice President of Operations for the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, on Tuesday demonstrates the new 24-hour food lockers available at the 620 Norton Road food center. Draper said the lockers will be especially helpful to people who work nights and weekends.

The food collective has expanded its hours and locations in the past several years, but this new service will broaden access for local people even more.

This is the first time the collective is offering the locker service and they believe it is the first of its kind in Ohio, though in recent months food pantries across the nation have begun to introduce similar systems. They can also be found in some grocery stores.

"It's our new experiment in serving people in our community," Habash said on Tuesday. "It's a way for us to serve. ... A new way to be truly customer centric."

The lockers aren't meant to replace the choice included in a shopping experience at a Mid-Ohio Market, instead it's for those who aren't able to get to the market during its opening hours.

Shoppers can use the system for free by ordering online at www.orderahead.org and then being assigned a locker number, a pick-up window and a PIN to get their items. Orders are refrigerated and secure until pickup and include a variety of refrigerated items, like produce, and shelf-stable foods.

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“This system will make it easier for working families in Columbus to get fresh, healthy food at times that work for their busy schedules," Habash said.

After being tested, the 72 lockers are now available to the wider community, with the potential of offering three dozen families per day food access.

The orange lockers and green vestibule are located on the side of the Norton Road Market, emblazoned with the words: "Your groceries. At your convenience. Cool and fresh." on them in English and Spanish.

Humana Healthy Horizons, a health plan that manages Medicaid benefits for thousands of Ohioans, invested money to make the lockers possible, according to the food collective.

The plan's partnership with the collective includes more than $1.25 million focusing on ending hunger by addressing social determinants of food insecurity and poverty.

The collective reported seeing an "unprecedented" need and record demand for food across its 680 partner sites in 20 area counties earlier this year. From Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, people received food assistance at its locations more than 1.3 million times, according to the collective's data, up 35% from the same time in 2022.

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Humana and the collective hosted a public launch and ribbon cutting event Tuesday at the Norton Road market.

“Humana Healthy Horizons is committed to eliminating the barriers that impact the health of the communities we serve,” said Kathie Mancini, vice president of Humana Healthy Horizons - Ohio, in a statement. “By working with MOFC on vital programs like this one, we can help ensure everyone in the mid-Ohio region has access to healthy, nourishing food.”

Next, the food collective hopes to put the lockers in other locations, including rural areas where pantry hours may be more limited. There are also discussions about putting a set at the new COTA Rickenbacker Mobility Center, Habash said.

"It really lives into what we call a food is health strategy," Habash said, during the ribbon cutting event. "The ability to really connect people is what this has ben all about."

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mid-Ohio Food Collective debuts after hours locker system at market