Student develops program to let you know when food delivery slots open up

File this under “Things We Didn’t Know We Would Need,” but here we are.

A Georgetown University student has created a computer program that alerts users when Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods have delivery time slots available, CNBC reported. It ‘s a response to how difficult it has become to find food delivery times during the coronavirus pandemic.

Adrian Hertel, a Georgetown student who minors in computer science, created a program that will automatically notify users when time slots open on Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods, CNBC reported, largely motivated by his concern for his parents, who have immune deficiencies.

As many have begun to utilize grocery delivery during the outbreak to avoid leaving their homes, they are seeing exceedingly long wait times. Some delivery services — including Amazon, Instacart and others — have seen wait times that surpass one week, at times, or show as not available altogether.

Use of the program requires you to fill your cart and be ready to pay, and it is not foolproof: Phantom notifications may pop up or you still may need to wait a few days for a slot to open up.

Hertel told CNBC the effectiveness could also depend on your location and what time you enter your information.

More information on how to implement the script on your own computer can be found on CNBC.com.