Instacart is making its grocery delivery and collection services more accessible to low-income customers by offering customers the ability to pay for groceries using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This is the first time that Instacart shoppers have been able to use government assistance programs when paying for groceries, and it follows previous moves by large retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, and others, in extending SNAP EBT to the online shopping.
In the case of Instacart, the option has been made available in partnership with ALDI, which will offer SNAP EBT attendees the ability to access fresh food and other basic products using the online service.
While shopping, Instacart users will be able to add items eligible for ALDI's EBT SNAP to their cart, then select the amount of benefits they wish to allocate to their order before checkout.
The program will launch in the new weeks and will first arrive in over 60 ALDI stores in Georgia and then expand to over 570 stores in Illinois, California, Florida and Pennsylvania in the coming months.
Instacart claims to manage its Customer and Shopper Care team in Atlanta, which is why it chose Georgia as its debut market, adding that it was important to first support the communities where their employees live and work.
Today, online shopping is often seen as a luxury service, but it doesn't have to be. Often times, it's just as convenient to shop online as it is in-store (if you use the pickup option, at least), as customers can more easily compare prices with other online retailers. For some low-income customers, online shopping can also save time when they are short of work and family commitments.
The pandemic has now further complicated access to food for those benefiting from the SNAP benefits and, in particular, for those at high risk. These customers now have to take risks with their life and health to shop in-store, making online shopping more of a necessity.
"Instacart's introduction of SNAP EBT payments comes at a time when food insecurity in the United States has escalated as the nation continues to be affected by COVID-19," Instacart said in its announcement. According to Feeding America, due to the effects of the pandemic, more than 54 million people could suffer from food insecurity in 2020, which includes a potential of 18 million children. In Georgia, in particular, food insecurity affects 12.5% of the population and disproportionately affects communities of color, "he noted.
Instacart is now one of several online retailers that support SNAP EBT for groceries.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had been working to make online shopping more accessible to SNAP recipients through an online shopping pilot program with support from retailers including Amazon, Walmart, ShopRite, and others. Pilot retailers have made it possible to buy groceries online, then pay using SNAP EBT.
However, ALDI and Instacart are not listed on the USDA website as participating in the program.
