SPENCER, Mass. — When Eric LaFleche went to the supermarket on December 12, 2020, he bought the ordinary things: fruits, meats, vegetables, and other supplies. However, the groceries were not for him and his family.

Instead, the supplies were meant to help his fellow community members. The program, which LaFleche calls “Buying Friends and Families Food,” started as an idea to help five families during the pandemic, but it has since grown to make over 200 deliveries in just six months.

“I figured with the way the pandemic has been happening and the amount of people who have been laid off — I have had very good fortune in the job area,” LaFleche said. “I figured I would try to help five families before the end of 2020 with food and toiletries. It just started snowballing from there.”

At the end of the year, LaFleche had completed 24 deliveries. He then decided to double the deliveries each year that followed. But by the end of January 2021, he already saw the need within the community, making his 77th delivery just six weeks into starting the service.

“I have about 14 families that are in rotation,” LaFleche said. “I think when I started doing this, I thought it might be a “one delivery and done” kind of thing. [But] the need is real here.”

For just $75 to $80 a family, LaFleche has been able to feed and support them. The donations have been so substantial that he even transformed a room in his house to make space for storage.

“I was getting all of these donations to a point that I had to buy five six-foot-high shelves,” LaFleche said. “And they’re full. I have probably 25 people across Worcester County that donate food regularly to me.”

Family farms also donate multiple dozens of eggs each week to the cause. Price Chopper in Spencer held its annual food drive, with all proceeds going directly to Buying Friends and Families Food. It brought in more than a thousand pounds of supplies.

Most of LaFleche’s stops are in Worcester County, but his efforts have gone beyond Central Massachusetts. LaFleche, who served in Desert Storm as part of the United States Air Force, has even used online delivery services to bring food to the doors of those in need in areas beyond his reach such as California, North Carolina, Texas and Florida.

“All of the families that have reached out to me in these other states were actually brought to my attention from their relatives in Massachusetts,” LaFleche said. “All of my contributions and donations are from people in Worcester County, so I want to keep it within the families.”

He created a Facebook page for the delivery service, and through its posts, people notify LaFleche of those who are in need.

“I had several messages within a couple of hours,” LaFleche said.

A social media donation campaign has raised over $13,000 for Buying Friends and Families Food. Every dollar that is received goes back to serve those in need. On its website, buyingfood.org, LaFleche transparently shows how each dollar is spent.

LaFleche’s website.

In New England, LaFleche has been making deliveries daily. His one-man show has him shopping for weeks worth of groceries and supplies, creating a route and delivering the packages to folks.

“I’ve been privy to the food boxes that they give out in pantries. For a family of four, it’ll last about three days,” LaFleche said. “I’m giving out two to three weeks worth of food. I’m giving 12 pounds of chicken, ten pounds of pork. I’m giving five pounds of dried pasta with sauce, toilet paper, hand sanitizer — I’m giving everything that you’d go to the store for.”

“We’re coming out of the pandemic, but I think the need is still there,” LaFleche continued. “For most of my deliveries, I can tell you now, the need has been there for years.”