Instacart Rolls Out 1st Government Grocery Delivery Program in Maryland
Grocers, service providers and community leaders have launched several initiatives over the last few years to improve food security and curb childhood hunger. This week, Instacart announced that it is teaming up with Montgomery County in Maryland to introduce the nation’s first local government grocery delivery program supporting food-insecure families.
The novel MC Groceries program uses Instacart Health Fresh Funds to provide nearly 600 Montgomery County families living with food insecurity monthly stipends for online grocery shopping and delivery. Each participating family will receive stipends, including $100 a month per child, to buy groceries online from local stores available on Instacart. The funds cover a full year and allow users to buy a variety of foods and beverages, including pantry essentials and fresh and frozen produce, meat and dairy products.
According to Instacart, more than 80 stores in Montgomery County are available on its platform and many of them offer delivery and pick-up services. To qualify for the program, residents with at least one child under the age of 18 must meet specific criteria, including a household income that is at or below 400% federal poverty level and a household that does not receive benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), because their income falls outside of federal assistance yet is not enough to cover consistent access to nutritious foods.
“The program demonstrates the County’s leadership in pursuing solutions that connect families with essential financial support while addressing the gaps and access barriers underscored by post-pandemic shifts in federal resources,” said Marc Elrich, a county executive. “Our collaboration with Instacart is a model for public-private partnerships led by local government that leverage private sector technology and innovation to more effectively serve our residents.”
Casey Aden-Wansbury, VP of policy and government affairs at Instacart, said the collaboration reflects the company's ongoing efforts to enhance food access in the markets it serves. “At Instacart, we’re using our technology to solve some of the most complex food access challenges for families and communities,” she remarked. “We’re proud to partner with Montgomery County to help launch this pioneering food access program, ensuring more families can access the nutritious food they need. Through public-private partnerships like these, we can help end childhood hunger and foster more equitable access to nutritious food in every community.”
The program – the largest Instacart Health government partnership– has been underway for a few weeks already and the company reports that participants have placed more than 700 grocery orders to date using their Instacart Health Fresh Funds.
San Francisco-based Instacart partners with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners. The grocery tech company facilitates online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 85,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace.
This article originally appeared in sister publication Progressive Grocer.