ePantry: Food Pantry Online Ordering System
The River is thrilled to offer ePantry, a online food pantry ordering system! Once a month, households have the option to order their groceries online. Based on household size, families select from a variety of healthy and nutritious food, including fresh produce, meat, dairy, and options that support different diets, such as vegetarian and gluten-free items.
Designated pick-up times are usually available Tuesday through Thursday.
ePantry orders can be placed from Friday at 5:00 PM – Tuesday at 5:00 PM OR until capacity has been reached.
How to Order: Tutorial Video
In case you have questions, we have created a short informational video which includes step-by-step instructions on how to place your order, and what to do when you encounter error messages:
How to order ePantry for PICKUP
UPDATE: To ensure that ePantry can continue serving households already receiving online orders during the holiday season, The River has made the difficult decision to pause new ePantry household registrations.
Beginning November 5, we will not be accepting new households for online ordering until we reopen in our new building in February 2026.
If you are not currently registered for ePantry or your registration is out of date, we encourage you to:
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- Pick up curbside groceries and meals from The River.
- For new households, please complete our online registration.
- Visit The River on select Saturdays from 11am–2pm for Pantry Express, which provides a condensed selection of groceries and meals.
- Meet up with our Munch van on the road for mobile meals.
- Call 2-1-1 or visit 211wisconsin.communityos.org to find information about other pantries in your area.
- Pick up curbside groceries and meals from The River.
- Only one (1) ePantry order is allowed per household per calendar month.
- During the week of your ePantry pickup, you cannot receive additional groceries through The River’s standard curbside distribution.
If you have any questions, please contact epantry@riverfoodpantry.org.
We realize that things come up and that you may need to cancel your order as a result. If you need to cancel an ePantry order, you will still be able to visit our Curbside Grocery service for your weekly grocery visit.
Households may cancel 1 ePantry order per month, no questions asked. (This is a rolling 30 day period, as opposed to the calendar month limit for order eligibility.) After a 2nd cancellation or missed pickup over a period of 1 month, there is a 1-month temporary suspension from ordering through the ePantry program. Please also note that if there were to be a 3rd cancellation or missed pickup over a period of 3 months, that would result in a 3-month temporary suspension from online ordering. Continued cancellations or missed pickups may result in a permanent suspension from online ordering. Any suspensions from online ordering would not affect your access to other services offered by The River, such as Curbside Groceries.
This cancellation policy is in place because it takes a substantial amount of time for our staff and volunteers to process, pack and unpack canceled orders. Additionally, as we must limit the total number of orders each week, each cancellation takes away the opportunity for another household to order through ePantry that week.
If you have questions, please contact our ePantry Coordinator at epantry@riverfoodpantry.org or (608) 665-0232.
ePantry FAQs
For Current Clients:
When can I place an order?
You may place an order for pick-up between Friday at 5:00pm–Tuesday at 5:00pm.
NOTE: You must be registered before placing an ePantry order. This registration is separate from your Curbside Groceries registration. To ensure that ePantry can continue serving households already receiving online orders during the holiday season, The River has made the difficult decision to pause new ePantry household registrations. Beginning November 5, we will not be accepting new households for online ordering until we reopen in our new building in February 2026. If you are not currently registered for ePantry, or your registration is out of date, we encourage you to visit The River for Curbside Groceries instead.
How many orders can I place?
Only one (1) ePantry order is allowed per household per month. This takes the place of one of your visits to The River.
If you place an ePantry order for the week, standard curbside groceries are not available to you for that week.
Example: If you pick up your ePantry order this week (Tuesday–Thursday), you cannot receive curbside or delivered groceries until next Tuesday.
Are there any limits on what I can order?
Yes, non-perishable items (which are marked with a * on the order form) have the following limits:
- Household of 1–2: 25 items
- Household of 3–4: 35 items
- Household of 5–6: 45 items
- Household of 7+: 55 items
Perishable items do not count toward household limits! However, some very large orders (over 100 lbs) may need to be slimmed down due to limited space.
Delivery orders are limited to 60 lbs.
When and where is pick-up?
ePantry order pick-ups occur outside of The River’s Curbside Grocery Distribution hours. Typically pick-ups are available each week on Tuesday from 4–6pm, Wednesday from 9–11am, or Thursday from 7:30–9am. Orders can be picked up in the back (south central) area of our building at 2201 Darwin Rd., next to the ePantry Pickup sign. Please press the “CALL” button on the walkie talkie attached to the sign to alert us that you have arrived, and someone will be out to assist you. If you miss your scheduled ePantry pick-up without giving us notice within 24 hours of the scheduled time, we may not be able to fulfill your order.
Clients who place ePantry orders through the Madison Senior Center will be able to pick up at the Madison Senior Center at 330 W. Mifflin St. from 9:30-11am on the third Thursday of each month.
How do I cancel or change my order?
Please contact (608) 665-0232 or epantry@riverfoodpantry.org 24 hours before your scheduled pick-up or delivery to make cancellations or changes.
What if I can no longer make my confirmed pick-up time? Can I cancel?
Please call (608) 665-0232 as soon as you know that you won’t be able to make your time. We may be able to reschedule your pickup during a different ePantry distribution time (Tuesday from 4–6pm, Wednesday from 9–11am, or Thursday from 7:30–9am). However, this is not guaranteed. Additionally, we cannot fulfill pick-up orders during The River’s Curbside Grocery distribution hours.
If you do not call and miss your pickup, you will need to talk to the ePantry Coordinator before placing another order. You will not be able to place an order for that month without calling first.
We realize that things come up and that you may need to cancel your order as a result. Households may cancel 1 ePantry order per month, no questions asked. (This is a rolling 30 day period, as opposed to the calendar month limit for order eligibility.) After a 2nd cancellation or missed pickup over a period of 1 month, there is a 1-month temporary suspension from ordering through the ePantry program. Please also note that if there were to be a 3rd cancellation or missed pickup over a period of 3 months, that would result in a 3-month temporary suspension from online ordering. Continued cancellations or missed pickups may result in a permanent suspension from online ordering. Any suspensions from online ordering would not affect your access to other services offered by The River, such as Curbside Groceries.
This cancellation policy is in place because it takes a substantial amount of time for our staff and volunteers to process, pack and unpack canceled orders. Additionally, as we must limit the total number of orders each week, each cancellation takes away the opportunity for another household to order through ePantry that week.
What if I need something that isn’t on the order form?
Please add any items in the “Additional Comments” field at the bottom of the order form. We will do our best to accommodate. However, please note that these special requests are not guaranteed.
ePantry Volunteers Needed!
Volunteers are needed to help pack boxes of custom orders, stock shelves and assist with distribution to clients. Please sign up to volunteer with ePantry today.