May 6, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
A Web site that gives on-line grocery shoppers a chance to donate food to the hungry got 84 credit-card gifts from 75 donors in its first five days. The donations totaled $4,000 worth of food.
NetGrocer, based in North Brunswick, N.J., is collaborating on the donation effort with Second Harvest, a national network of food banks that has its headquarters in Chicago.
Through NetGrocer’s “Click to Give” program, donors can purchase packages of supplies for babies or for families of up to four people. The packages range in price from $15 to $375.
Donors charge their gifts on credit cards and NetGrocer sends the food to Second Harvest, footing the delivery bill and tossing in an additional $5 worth of food for each gift. To sweeten the pot for donors, NetGrocer gives them $5 off their next on-line food purchase.
To be sure recipients get well-balanced meals and the supplies they need most, Second Harvest helped choose what goes in each package, says Stacey Reineking, manager of media relations at the charity.
Second Harvest acknowledges each gift with a thank-you e-mail and follows up with a letter specifying the amount donated.
The two organizations plan to continue the program for three months before deciding whether to make it a long-term project. “It will be interesting to see if the Internet is ready for this,” says Ms. Reineking.
To get there: Go to http://www.netgrocer.com.
