Lunch Company Becomes Grocery Drive-Thru Amid Coronavirus

EAST BAY, CA — When schools closed due to concerns about the new coronavirus, Danville-based school lunch provider Choicelunch was essentially out of business. So were Choicelunch's wholesale suppliers who had food they didn't know what to do with, said COO Keith Cosbey.

Cosbey and CEO Justin Gagnon saw the empty shelves and stressed out customers in grocery stores, and heard complaints about grocer's curbside pickup programs. Choicelunch had cooks with nothing to cook, drivers with nowhere to drive and managers with nothing to manage.

Instead of folding until schools reopened, Choicelunch decided to start a drive-thru grocery program in downtown Danville, repackaging wholesale food items purchased from its suppliers and hiring back employees to load and ready grocery bags, Cosbey said.

"We're all doing what we can to save as many jobs as we can," he said.

Choicelunch — which serves some 25,000 lunches to kids in Tri-Valley, Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and beyond — put feelers out on Facebook and Nextdoor, Cosbey said. The service will debut Tuesday to 100 customers.

"Who would've thought we needed this 10 days ago?" he said.

Choicelunch grocery customers must select items online at pantry.choicelunch.com, pay by credit card and pick up their orders from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays, at the Danville Choicelunch kitchen (569 San Ramon Valley Blvd.), Cosbey said.

The lineup includes Roma Bakery bread, eggs, fresh produce, milk, halibut, beef, salmon, shrimp and more.

Drivers may stay in their cars while workers load up their trunks.

If things in Danville go well, Choicelunch may expand to San Jose, where it operates another kitchen, Cosbey said.

“This is more of a community service than anything, Gagnon said in a news release about the service. "Our goal right now is to help our community by getting food safely to our neighbors, and help our people by keeping as many of them working as possible.”