Grocery delivery program to end this summer for Fort Liberty families. What's next?

A pilot program to deliver commissary items to military families and veterans near Fort Liberty known as CLICK2GO will pause this summer.

The program, of which Fort Liberty’s South Commissary was one of eight test locations at military installations across the U.S., started in June 2022 and will pause June 30, said Supunnee “Sue” Ulibarri, a Defense Commissary Agency spokeswoman.

The Commissary CLICK2GO Delivery Pilot Program allows patrons within a 20-mile radius of Fort Liberty to order groceries online and have the items delivered to their front door.

“We look forward to offering our improved delivery options at this location and commissaries across the U.S. by late summer or early fall of this year, if all goes as designed,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a surge in online grocery shopping, according to Forbes, which analyzed Gallup poll data and found that in 2019, 81% of consumers never purchased groceries online, but by 2020, 79% of shoppers were.

The Army Times reported last month that current delivery fees have ranged from $10.99 to $16.70 for a trip of five miles or less, to $29.99 for a 16- to 20-mile trip.

The pilot programs are contracted out to delivery service vendors, Ulibarri said.

The pausing period will allow the Defense Commissary Agency to “determine future expansion and refinement” of the program, Ulibarri said.

“We learned from our focus group of new young, single enlisted service members that they value convenience as much as their savings, and they want low-cost, healthy options,” she said.

Ulibarri said that while the delivery program is paused, customers can still use the CLICK2GO link on the commissary website to order groceries for curbside pickup.

“We are striving to anticipate our patrons’ needs and do what it takes to be their grocery provider of choice,” she said. “Across our agency, we have a renewed focus on customer service – every decision we make is through the eyes of our patron – striving to meet their needs, be it extended hours, special orders or commissary delivery.”

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fort Liberty commissaries test grocery delivery program