InformationWeek

May 19, 1999

NetGrocer Aims To Share The Wealth

Mention the words "Internet company" and inflated market value, day trading, and quick ways to rake in big bucks are some of the images that quickly come to mind.

But not all Internet businesses are singularly obsessed with riding the fast track to big money. Case in point: NetGrocer, a national online grocery shopping business that has offered its services in the war on hunger. NetGrocer and Second Harvest, a national food-bank organization, have teamed up in a "Click To Give" campaign that lets online shoppers toss a few extra goods from a menu of "donatables" into to their virtual shopping basket. The goods are turned over to the food bank for distribution to the needy. NetGrocer not only picks up the shipping charges for delivering the food, but also adds $5 worth of products to every order donated.

To date, about 8% of NetGrocer customers have participated in the Click To Give charity. Those donations came in despite some unfortunate timing. According to a NetGrocer spokeswoman, the food drive began at the same time as online charity frauds were being uncovered by the press and online shopping came under attack after a 13-year-old boy managed to bid hundreds of thousands of dollars in an eBay online auction. Despite the bad timing, more than $10,000 in goods have been donated to Second Harvest since the effort began in April.

-- Eileen Colkin