Through the Grocery Purchasing Program (GPP), Connecticut Foodshare will purchase high-demand products by the tractor-trailer load and then resell them to your program, at cost, saving you time and money.

Many partner programs that have been purchasing at local retailers and membership clubs to keep their shelves stocked have been asking us to bring this program back. We heard you! Nearly 300 people responded to our recent food survey. We used your responses to create the list of foods for the Grocery Purchasing Program. Items will include cereal, rice, soup, shelf stable milk, canned fruit, mac and cheese, tuna, frozen chicken, frozen fish, and more. These products are available to the network at our cost; there is NO markup on this product.

Ordering GPP product

When ordering food, items in the GPP will be clearly marked with GPP in the description, as shown in the image below. Your shopping cart summary will show the total amount due for GPP items placed in your cart.

If you use the Grocery Purchasing Program, please be sure that the Connecticut Foodshare invoices are getting e-mailed to your billing person so they can be paid within 30 days. If you need to update your account, please contact Codi Wayton at cwayton@ctfoodshare.org.

If your program does not have funds to purchase food, please be sure the person who places your food orders does NOT order any products with GPP in the item number. The case cost of the item will also be clear. Partners can request that visibility of GPP food be turned off for their agency if they wish to avoid seeing the items and potentially adding them to their cart by mistake. If you wish to do this, email Sherry Grant at sgrant@ctfoodshare.org.

Paying for GPP

• At the end of each month a statement will be emailed to the person who is listed on your program’s account as the primary contact as well as a finance contact if one is listed, both currently receive invoices. If the statement is not going to the correct person please contact Codi Wayton at (203) 741-9215 or cwayton@ctfoodshare.org and they can update your program’s information.
• Statements are only sent to programs that have a balance due.
• Programs are asked to pay their balance within 30 days of receiving the statement.
• All checks should be made payable to Connecticut Foodshare.
• Please include your agency ID number on your check so the payment gets credited to the correct account.
• Send your check to:
  Connecticut Foodshare
  2 Research Parkway
  Wallingford, CT 06492
• We strongly encourage you to wait for the monthly statement to arrive and NOT to pay off individual invoices. The statement balance will take into account any credits or overpayments and will show the actual amount due.
• Program accounts that are past due by 60 days or more will have access to the Grocery Purchasing Program removed until their statement balance is paid in full.
• If you have any questions on your statement you can email us at acctsreceivable@ctfoodshare.org.

GPP Presentation at January Network Forum

Connecticut Foodshare CEO Jason Jakubowski and Chief Network and Program Officer Chris O’Rourke reviewed the Grocery Purchasing Program at our January 2023 Network Forum. Watch the video. Review the slides.

Fee Structure Beginning July 1, 2024

Read the February 8, 2024 newsletter for partners including a message about the fee structure beginning July 1.