<p>My parents are getting older and they hate to bother their kids. My father doesn’t drive at all and my mom shouldn’t. So when she’s not feeling well, they go without. I’ve been looking for a grocery delivery service so they could at least get milk, fruit and bread and believe it or not, can’t find one in Southeast Michigan. They can order some stuff from amazon, but not fresh things. Milk delivery services (of which I can only find one in their area) deliver only dairy products. No meat, fruits or vegetables. Something like Schwan’s delivers frozen foods, but not fresh.</p>
<p>Anybody got any ideas? You’d think there would be a big market for this.</p>
<p>You might give a call to a Senior Center in their area to see if the folks there have any suggestions. This is an issue for seniors and I imagine that those folks could provide some answers. Do you know any of their neighbors? Is there anyone who might be willing to shop for them? It would be a good job for a teenager who drives and wants to earn a little money.</p>
<p>Peapod was one of the bigger names back in the late 1990s on internet grocery delivery but I think that their market contracted - don’t recall why. They are still around today but I think mainly in major metro areas. I often see a Peapod delivery truck at my son’s apartment in Boston and the guy delivers a lot of groceries.</p>
<p>Have you contacted local grocery stores to see if they do deliveries?</p>
<p>If you cannot find exactly what you are looking for consider Meals on Wheels. When my Aunt was ill, they delivered 1 meal a day. That 15 minute visit was the highlight of many a day for them. </p>
<p>Somebody really should start this business. Although if nobody has, maybe it’s not profitable enough.</p>
<p>Edit: Meals on Wheels does not serve their county. And if they did, my parents probably wouldn’t go for it. They don’t want somebody to cook for them, just not to have to go out to buy groceries. The other link also does not serve their zip code. I will try the area grocery stores later.</p>
<p>I noticed Meijer (a big Michigan grocer) has an onder online/store pickup option. Perhaps they can order online and have a friend or neighbor pick up for them; this does assume they are tech savvy. </p>
<p>In my area Peapod is the biggest (owned by Stop & Shop) and has been around for many years, however it had huge start up losses, but the parents company (Ahold) kept with it, as it believed it would become profitable once it acheived scale and acceptance. ShopRite (largest NYC metro grocer) just started a delivery option. This business requires scale for profits and also needs a higher-income demographic that will pay for the convenience. </p>
<p>PS - several of my neighbors swear by PeaPod. I tried once and thought it took me much longer to order than it would to jump in my car and do it myself.</p>
<p>I have a friend who used Peapod exclusively for years. She was a widow with three-year-old twins, so she could “shop” when her twins were asleep.</p>
<p>To tide them over the times they cannot get to the store, why not stock their pantry and freezer with staples?
Milk comes in sealed cartons you don’t have to refrigerate until after you open the package.
Regular, soy, almond milk are available in quart boxes and don’t expire for years.
Frozen fruit like whole berries, fresh frozen peaches are nutritious and flavorful.
The same for frozen vegetables.
Frozen bread rolls/sticks just need popping into the oven to make them tasty. </p>
<p>If you want to tell us the city then your CC friends will help with specific searches.</p>
<p>I second the senior center check-there is one near my home that offers rides for exactly this reason. Our church is often sent flyers recruiting volunteer drivers (they also drive seniors to Dr. appointments and the like). Also, if their town has a transit system, they may have special bus service for seniors. My hometown didn’t have much of a transit system, but my grandmother often took their senior grocery run bus to stock up when we weren’t available to drive her. The driver even helped with loading the groceries.</p>
<p>I also like the idea of stocking up their pantry for them when you can. I often gave Nana groceries when I stopped by “just because”.</p>
<p>This could be a good opportunity to introduce the idea of an occasional caregiver for them. You could hire someone to do the shopping once per week or to pick them up and bring them shopping. Accepting the first ‘hired’ help is a huge hurdle, but once it’s crossed it becomes much easier to step up the number of visits to tide them over between family visits.</p>
<p>Maybe a local cab company will deliver groceries instead of a person. (PS - and maybe they will set up an account you pay instead of having your parents pay each trip … when we tried to get our parents to use cabs they wouldn’t because it was too expensive and stayed house bound instead)</p>
<p>It’s one thing if a caregiver is truly needed, but I think many people highly value their independence, and I would not want to rush someone to give up more control over their life or daily activities than necessary. These days there is probably grocery delivery available, and that would allow a person who is only experiencing mobility difficulties to retain control over this aspect of their life.</p>
<p>Way back in the '60s my mother had a local cab company that picked up her grocery order and brought it by the house. It worked fine.</p>
<p>Another possibility is to advertise on Craigslist for someone who will take your mom or dad to the store when they go, for a small fee. (A driver’s helper instead of a mother’s helper.)</p>
<p>Do you have a local CSA (community supported agriculture) that delivers a regular box of local fruit/veggies/etc.? I used to have a nice one that delivered bread, veg, and cheese every week. (I gave it up because they were big growers of kale, and kale and I… not so much.)</p>
<p>I am surprised none of the major chain markets in their area don’t have delivery service - all of our markets do. </p>
<p>You might look in your local neighborhood paper (were I live it’s called Spotlight, for example) where local people advertize. In my paper I see lots of ads from people whose business is running errands and other services. </p>
<p>Also second looking into their town’s senior services. My town has a car service which picks up seniors and takes them to appts, etc., and a bus which takes them to the market, and the local strip malls. You do need to make a reservation.</p>
<p>You guys must live in a much better area. Even the Area Agency on Aging doesn’t serve Wayne County in Michigan. None of the grocery stores in the area offer the service and they would be too afraid to look for someone on craigslist. I’m going to keep trying though. </p>
<p>I think their main problem is fear of giving up their freedom. They do have three children and numerous grandchildren that live near enough to do these errands for them. I’m going to try really hard to remember when I get older that my kids WANT to help.</p>
<p>Wow - I wonder if there are folks with similar circumstances in my neighborhood. It would be so easy to just call when I am near (or headed to) a grocery store to see if they need anything. </p>
<p>I will face this with my Dad (5 hours away) in a few years. Please keep us posted if you find a great solution.</p>