SAN ANTONIO – A freelance software developer from San Antonio is trying to help Texans get the groceries they need with a newly built website that allows consumers to search for curbside availability slots at H-E-B.
The website, which is not affiliated with the San Antonio-based grocery giant, allows consumers to search by ZIP code to see the soonest available curbside pickup date at their local store.
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“I shop at H-E-B and use the curbside service when possible. I was never frustrated with the lack of curbside slots, H-E-B is doing the best they can,” said the website’s creator in an interview with KSAT.com. “I was inspired to make the tool after seeing a conversation on Reddit about available curbside slots.”
Brandon, who asked to be identified by his first name only, told KSAT that he taught himself to program when he was 10 and that he works primarily on the backend of websites, “which is why the site is functional but not beautiful.”
The biggest challenge, Brandon said, was figuring out how to get the available data from H-E-B to make his site function.
When a customer inputs their ZIP code into his site, it is sent to H-E-B servers and “when the search data returns, I extract the important information and return it to the resulting table,” he said.
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“Most recently I built an SMS system for Midland County that allows citizens to voluntarily report if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. This information is used to help local medical staff prepare based on the occurrence of symptoms in the County,” Brandon said.
The entire H-E-B venture took about three hours to build, according to Brandon, who said the website "was made to help everyone get the supplies they need while maintaining as much social distance as possible.”
View the curbside availability search website here.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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