We are pleased to provide choice for families who live in the Westerville City School District and meet the income eligibility guidelines table (see bottom of page) for food assistance. They can now shop our ONLINE Choice Market to choose the food, household supplies, and other items they want or need based on the size of their family and availability from our current inventory.

Each family is assigned points based on the number of people in their household, which are allocated to the food and “other” categories just like in the Choice Market in our building, when it is open. Each item has a point value, instead of dollars, so that as a shopper selects an item, the points are subtracted from the total until all points are used or the shopper has what they want. Once finished shopping, they choose a date and time to pick up their order curbside in our parking lot. Families may shop our ONLINE Choice Market as often as every two weeks for as long as they are eligible for food assistance.

While not quite the same as shopping in-person, it is the next best thing. It is easy to order through a computer, tablet, smartphone, or other mobile device. WARM also provides an option for ordering by phone through our Help Center for those who are not comfortable ordering online or who do not have internet access.

 

Two ways to order through the ONLINE Choice Market

ORDER ONLINE
You can access the ONLINE Choice Market through www.warmwesterville.org/order. To log in and place an order, you will need a Shopper ID and PIN, assigned by WARM. Call our Help Center at 614-568-8700 Monday through Friday between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM to sign up and to make arrangements to pick up the instructional packet or have one emailed to you.

ORDER BY PHONE  
If you do not have internet access or are not comfortable ordering online, you can place an order in the ONLINE Choice Market by phone. Call our Help Center at 614-568-8700 Monday through Friday between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM to sign up and place an order.

If you have any questions about the ONLINE Choice Market, call the Help Center at 614-568-8700.


 

"TEMPORARILY CLOSED"

WARM’s Choice Market is located inside our building. It is a food pantry market, set up like a small grocery store, which provides clients with choice. The COVID-19 pandemic forced WARM to temporarily close its Choice Market and move to curbside pick-up with a pre-packaged variety of non-perishable items, meat, produce, dairy, bread, and baked goods. Although not ideal, this allowed WARM to meet the increased demand from the pandemic. In early 2021, we introduced the ONLINE Choice Market to restore choice for the families we serve. We are planning to reopen this market in the future in addition to shopping online. 

Shoppers use points based on household size, rather than money. A WARM team member guides shoppers through the aisles for food and household supplies. As often as every two weeks, families choose approximately a 6-day supply of food based on the size of their family.

WARM is interested in the health and well-being of the families we serve. One way we help is by encouraging healthy food choices. Through the in-person and online shopping options, we use a “nudge” to prompt healthier foods, so that the shopper can make the best healthy choice. We do this by lowering the point value of healthier foods so that a shopper can choose more of those items, while less healthy foods have a higher point value. We also use messages, signs, product placement, and other visual “nudges” to encourage the selection of healthier foods.

In order to receive food assistance at WARM, you must live within the Westerville City School District or be referred by a business or local church partner, and be income eligible. If the total gross income for all household members combined is currently below these levels, you can visit WARM up to twice a month for food and household items for your family. See table below.

Income Eligibility Guidelines Table

To schedule your first appointment for food assistance, please call our Help Center at 614-568-8700 (Monday-Friday 10:00am-1:00pm).