Food service alternatives include home food delivery options that go beyond the popular pizza and Chinese-food deliveries. Many companies have essentially contracted out delivery drivers for bags of groceries that people would normally have gotten themselves in- store. Home food delivery has become increasingly popular in recent years as more people become reliant on technology to do the work for them.
Online, mobile, and smartphone applications that allow consumers to shop and set delivery dates and times make living much more convenient. The company, Instacart, performs delivery services for a variety of stores such as ALDI, Publix, Whole Foods, Kroger, CVS, and Costco. Customers can order their groceries online and have them delivered through this contracted service. Home grocery delivery seems to have grown in popularity in recent
months. Another company, SHIPT, also delivers food from local grocery stores to customer s in as soon as an hour. Companies such as Amazon.com, Walmart, and many others have also stepped in to allow greater flexibility to their consumers in being able to obtain food items at their convenience, usually for a convenience fee.
But how do these food service alternatives help? Do they help, especially those in disadvantaged communities who may be on limited income? The main objective for these services is of course to make grocery shopping more convenient, but as many are well aware, this comes at a price. I was interested to see if these convenience fees were something
participants in these areas are willing to pay in order to get the groceries they want or if it is a luxurious option that lower-income consumers may not be able to afford. Asking the
participants about these options and why they do not use them tended to result in responses of confusion and surprise/awe, but also varying degrees of interest and consideration for the
services. The idea of having groceries delivered seemed so strange to some that even if they could afford it, many seemed to not even take it into consideration. These dismissals were either due to the idea of paying a fee, strict personal shopping habits (wanting to see all the options in front of them before making a decision—not being limited to an online selection) or just the apprehensiveness of having someone delivering their food. As D. Perry and M. Clark, both single males living on somewhat limited income note:
D. Perry: It might be hard for me to get to the store sometimes, but I still try to go. And I don’t want someone else picking my fruits and vegetables. I want to see what they look like. I am picky about my stuff and I wouldn’t want them to bring the wrong thing. Not like I chose apples and they brought oranges…but I like to see and feel what my grapes are like before I get them. Sometimes I won’t buy them if they are too soft. Stuff like that.
M. Clark: I saw an ad for that when I went to ALDI last time…but you have to pay a fee. I’d rather have that money go toward my food than a delivery fee, you know? But I guess I could see where it would be useful especially if I didn’t have a way of getting to a grocery store. I don’t make that much money, I can barely pay rent some months, and I don’t have a car. I doubt I’ll be using that delivery service any time soon.
For people like B. Owens, who works unconventional shifts, either third or second shifts, food delivery services sounded like an interesting idea, simply for the matter of convenience. As stated earlier, the stores he would want to shop at are closed by the time he is able to make it there:
B. Owens: Hmm…I could see where I might use it sometimes if it didn’t cost too much. A lot of times I can’t get to the store before they close. If I work third shift, it works out better because I can get stuff on my way home, but I’m not usually thinking about grocery shopping when I get off work. I’m ready to get home to go to bed. If they offer something like a two-hour delivery, I know I could get used to that. Maybe I could order before leaving work and then have something at my door when I get home? But how much is it? All of it just sounds funny.
7.3 Conclusion
As evidenced by the participants in this study, food access is not just a geographically- bound issue. Merely living in a food desert does not always limit people from accessing the foods they need. Other factors such as transportation, finances, preference, and time are more significant for participants in this study. Even with alternative measures in place to assist in obtaining food, these measures may be missing the mark in that they are either not utilized by people in food deserts or they are too costly to be of benefit.
The examples of the underutilization or general lack of interest of food delivery service by participants illustrate that the location of the food stores may not actually be the issue for why people cannot access food. Even when the opportunity arises to have food delivered to their home, likely for the sake of convenience for most of the customers, the participants in this study have varying reasons for why they would not use the service. But who are these
companies with food delivery services targeting? Is their target consumer one who already makes a decent wage, already owns a car or two, and just cannot tear away from that extracurricular activity to go grocery shopping? Or are they actually targeting the lower- income consumer who lives in a food desert and has a hard time accessing his or her own food?
Many of the food delivery services are not too lenient with having a minimum purchase amount, and if there is no minimum purchase amount, the associated fee seems high. One could essentially just have an item or two delivered—while still paying a convenience fee. This however is not a luxury many of the participants in this study can and will afford. So is this a viable solution? Participants felt there are prices to pay in general in order to be able to access
more food more easily. One could live in a more expensive neighborhood and have food stores all around, because the stores know they will have a steady flow of consumers as well as revenue. Stores in more affluent areas will be in abundance, while disadvantaged areas will continue to be overlooked. One could spend more money owning a personal vehicle and be able to have the freedom of going to whatever store they wished to frequent, while being able to take home as many groceries as their car could fit (within reason). Or one could save money on either real estate or transportation, either by choice or necessity, and live in a declining neighborhood and not readily have access to these options. The cost of obtaining food is more than just the cost of the food item and residents in these areas have managed to find ways to work around these obstacles.
8 APPLYING A POLITICS OF RESOURCEFULNESS AND SCHOLAR-ACTIVISM