By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press Business Writer
Instacart said Friday it will offer customers who receive SNAP benefits 50% on their next grocery order to ease strain as the government prepares to cut off food aid payments.
Instacart said any customer who placed an order in October using a SNAP/EBT card will be eligible for the discount, which will be available even if the government makes the payments as planned on Nov. 1. Instacart said it is also expanding the number of food banks it supports through online food drives from 100 to 300.
The San Francisco-based grocery delivery company said both programs amount to $5 million in direct relief.
“As SNAP funding faces unprecedented disruption and food banks brace for longer lines, we’re focused on practical, immediate solutions: helping families who use SNAP stretch their grocery dollars and helping food banks stock up to support their communities,” said Dani Dudeck, Instacart’s chief corporate affairs officer.
Instacart is one of several big companies reacting to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown.
Gopuff, a Philadelphia-based company that provides fast delivery of food and other convenience items, said it will provide $50 worth of free groceries in November to customers who have a SNAP/EBT card connected to their Gopuff account. Gopuff said it will spend up to $10 million on the program.
DoorDash, a delivery company based in San Francisco, said it would waive service and delivery fees for an estimated 300,000 orders for SNAP recipients in November. DoorDash said Friday that 25 grocery companies, including Sprouts, Dollar General, Giant Eagle, Stop & Shop, Winn-Dixie, BJ’s Wholesale Club and ShopRite, are partnering with DoorDash to cut those fees.
DoorDash said it would also deliver 1 million meals from food banks for free. The company said more than 2.4 million of its customers have a SNAP/EBT card linked to their DoorDash account.
Instacart does not disclose how many of its customers receive SNAP benefits. The company began accepting online SNAP payments in 2020. It offers discounted memberships for SNAP recipients and zero delivery fees on orders over $35.