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Ziscuit opened an online grocery store in Selma on Jan. 22. The grocer  integrated its online services with a refrigerated food locker installed at the Selma Mall and began taking online orders for food boxes Monday.

Selma shoppers who lack access to low-cost food can either have groceries stored conveniently for pick up at Ziscuit’s Food Locker or delivered to their front door. 

“Fighting food deserts and food insecurity requires that we re-think how the grocery industry works,” Ziscuit founder and CEO Wesley Peterson said. “If we can put food lockers in communities where grocery stores are disappearing, we can fight food insecurity while also creating real economic opportunities for local farmers and gig delivery workers.”

At the Selma Mall, Peterson installed a Bell & Howell temperature-controlled food locker where customers can pick up their online orders. Peterson said that Ziscuit aims to connect underserved shoppers with local farmers and create a vibrant marketplace that fights food insecurity.”  

Subscription food boxes come in a variety of types, including vegetable, diry, poultry, and beverage boxes curated by Ziscuit or local merchants who want to sell on Ziscuit’s platform.  

To use Ziscuit, shoppers go online to Ziscuit.Shop and then select “Food Boxes.” Shoppers can select the food box type they want and choose to have the box delivered to their home or stored at the food locker for pickup. The minimum required subscription is two weeks.

Ziscuit launched in Atlanta in January 2022 by Peterson, a Linden native. The store eventually expanded to Birmingham. 

Peterson said he grew up eating fresh foods and hopes to branch into the Black Belt Region in the future.

“I grew up eating fresh, healthy food from my grandmother’s garden,” Peterson said.