Donna Marie Owens, “Check It Out: Get Your Groceries At The Library,” National Public Radio, April 26, 2010

This article details a new program in Baltimore that allows residents to order groceries online in two branch public libraries and pick them up there the next day. The Baltimore City Health Department launched the Virtual Supermarket Project to help combat the city’s lack of healthy, fresh food in communities where major supermarkets within walking distance are scarce.

The libraries are apparently located in “food deserts” that lack access to healthy fare and where “the mortality burden from diet-related causes like diabetes, stroke and heart disease are among the highest in the city,” according to one epidemiologist.

Patrons pay for the groceries with cash, credit or food stamps. The orders are filled and delivered by Santoni’s supermarket, a longtime Baltimore grocer. NPR reports that approximately two dozen people have so far signed up for the program, which is funded by a $60,000 grant from the federal stimulus package, and that other cities have inquired about the possibility of replicating it. If successful, the program’s goal is to partner with additional stores and possibly expand to other parts of the city.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) was quoted as saying the project is an innovative solution until more supermarkets are built in these neighborhoods. “I think at a point when we are doing what we need to do to make our city better, safer and stronger, we’ll attract that investment,” she said. “But I’m so proud that we have the use of technology to fill in that gap till development catches up.”