By Kris McDowell

On the surface, local nonprofit Store to Door may just appear to be an organization that brings groceries to homebound seniors and adults living with disabilities, ensuring there is food, toilet paper and other essentials in their homes. But the organization provides so much more than any simple grocery delivery service can—specifically the personal connection to help their clients avoid isolation.
Store to Door started over 30 years ago to meet the needs of a handful of people living in low-income senior housing who were unable to shop on their own. Since then the organization has grown to make grocery deliveries to about 250 homebound clients each week, of which 94 percent live alone, many with limited or no social contact. According to the National Institute on Aging, being alone may leave older adults more vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness, the distressing feeling of being alone or separate, and social isolation, a lack of social contacts and having few people to interact with regularly, can contribute negatively to physical health, brain health and emotional pain.
The grocery shopping that started it all is accomplished through multiple steps, starting with calls to clients on Mondays and Tuesdays to take their orders. That’s followed by shopping orders at two Fred Meyer locations—Beaverton and Hollywood—on Wednesdays and Thursdays and delivery just hours later to the clients’ homes. But the service doesn’t stop there. Clients that would like help getting their groceries inside their homes or putting those items away are assisted by the person delivering their order.
Store to Door client and SE resident Karen Gilkison started using the program during the pandemic, which she found about through the residential coordinator at the building she lives in. Since starting, the program has been part of her weekly life. She says the program has been “so helpful” and in its absence she would have to take a bus, or a couple of buses, with her cart on wheels to get to the smaller grocery store in her neighborhood that has a limited selection of products. She tried using Instacart once and it was a “fiasco.” Beyond its usefulness, she says that the regular calls from her order taker are “like talking to a friend.”
In addition to weekly grocery shopping, Store to Door also provides friendly caller phone calls, free food boxes for low-income clients and personalized resource referrals. The friendly caller program started during COVID, a time during which nearly everyone, homebound or not, felt the impact of social isolation to one degree or another. In addition to being another way to reduce isolation and loneliness, the regular check-ins give clients the opportunity to express additional needs or concerns. The calls vary in length—some are short hellos, and others are long, involved discussions that can last more than 30 minutes.
The food box program currently delivers nearly 1,250 free boxes of food annually in partnership with Portland Open Bible Community Pantry. Cass Listro, Program Director, said, “Prior to COVID, there was a small Food Box Program partnering with Sunshine Division. This program provided ‘staples boxes’ to clients. During COVID, Sunshine Division notified us they would no longer be able to support our partnership.” As a result, the program shut down for about a year and a half, during which time finding a new pantry partner became a priority. A partner was found in Nourish Oregon and now the food boxes, like clients’ grocery orders, are customized to meet dietary needs with items including fresh meat, dairy and fresh produce.
When clients express needs beyond what Store to Door can provide directly, the referral program is there to connect them with warm handoffs to organizations that can assist them with home repairs, medical transportation, yard work and more. The program grew organically out of a combination of referrals from order takers, delivery drivers and friendly callers as well as clients themselves reaching out for help. “Over time, as the need grew, it became clear to leadership that a formal program would be the best next step,” said Listro. “Our hope is this program will be able to support our clients in accessing any resources they may need, including things like rental assistance, help finding a new doctor, yard maintenance, energy assistance or in-home care services to name a few.”
Store to Door is able to operate thanks to the commitment of community members to volunteer, whether it’s something they do once or something that is a regular part of their weekly schedules. Over 1,000 volunteers per year give more than 20,000 hours of their time to help clients remain independent, nourished and supported in their social, mental and physical health.
SE resident Nancy Lynn is one of those volunteers. She served on the staff of Store to Door for 17 years and after retiring two years ago, returned as a volunteer shopper on a regular basis. “Volunteering is my continued contribution to the mission of Store to Door, and I enjoy the camaraderie of the staff and other volunteers,” Lynn said. “We all have a passion for helping vulnerable populations maintain their dignity and independence in the community.”
To find out more about Store to Door, if you or someone you know could benefit from their services or if you are interested in being one of their vital volunteers that supports community members by allowing them to stay in their homes, visit storetodooroforegon.org.

US Bank employees volunteer to shop for seniors. Photo by Store to Door.

Store to Door Nourishes Body and Mind

January 30, 2026 | Feature Stories | Cass Listro, Kris McDowell, Store to Door, volunteering