The struggling U.S. Postal Service is getting into the grocery business after more than five years of staggering losses.
The service says it's planning to make daily deliveries of groceries around the country in a proposal sent to the Postal Regulatory Commission this week for approval, according to
The Washington Post.
The cash-strapped government agency plans to begin testing the so-called "milk and mail" delivery plan late next month.
The process will take up to two years before a decision is made on whether to make the deliveries a permanent part of the USPS program, The Post said.
The idea is that the Postal Service would join with retail partners to deliver "groceries and other prepackaged goods" to homes between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m.
Grocery stores and chains would need to drop off their orders at post offices from 1:30-2:30 a.m. to make sure of the same-day delivery, according to the newspaper.
"Ultimately, the Postal Service expects this will generate more package deliveries that do not currently move within the postal system," the agency said in its proposal, the Post reported.
"Grocery deliveries are expanding across the nation, with several different types of companies beginning to offer this service in recent months."
During initial tests, the USPS has been hauling groceries for Amazon.com in the San Francisco area, averaging 160 deliveries per day in 38 zip codes.
After losing multi-billion dollar sums for nearly six years, the service has been looking for new ways to create income, and has been teaming up with a string of retail chains in recent months in efforts to reduce its losses.
Last November, the service said it planned to open 82 postal centers across the nation in Staples office-supply stores. And the same month it agreed to deliver Amazon packages at regular rates on Sundays, instead of the usual extra fee.
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