Innovation Gets Food To People in Rural Virginia

Innovation can be borne out of crisis. That was the experience for Virginia’s Eastern Shore during COVID-19. While many people turned to online grocery delivery services to keep our families fed, this rural community lacked the digital infrastructure.  

In response, the community created the Shore Delivery Corps, funded by United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation. The Delivery Corps mobilized volunteers to provide free grocery delivery services to older adults and individuals with existing health issues.  

During the height of COVID, Shore Delivery Corps volunteers fielded calls, checked participants’ eligibility and location, and scheduled 2,254 deliveries to people in need, including 1,371 deliveries to households and apartment complexes, and 882 to school families.

This volunteer-fueled initiative is still in place today, with people in need calling to get food, medicine and other necessities delivered for free.

Find out more about how the community rose to the occasion by reading this Innovation Case Study created by United Way Worldwide. It tells the inspiring story of how a community rallies around its most vulnerable residents during tough times.