Instacart adds half-off membership for SNAP recipients

Instacart on Tuesday announced that its premium Instacart membership would be available for half off for customers who receive aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Anyone who has used an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) SNAP card to buy groceries on Instacart in the past six months can purchase an Instacart membership for $4.99 per month for 12 months, the tech company said. Membership gives users free delivery and pickup, 5% credit back on pickup orders and reduced service fees with every order.

The move is “designed to make grocery shopping more affordable and accessible for SNAP participants nationwide,” Instacart said in a statement.

A study published this fall by the University of Kentucky, Instacart and the non-profit No Kid Hungry organization found that online grocery shopping can help with meal planning and can stretch food budgets, while also allowing those who use SNAP benefits to purchase more fruits and vegetables than in-store shoppers.

“Our research has shown that online grocery shopping can provide very real benefits for families on tight food budgets, including SNAP recipients, Courtney Smith, No Kid Hungry’s SVP of program research, innovation and impact, said in a statement. “Instacart’s discounted membership for SNAP recipients is one solution that can help more food-insecure families tap into the many benefits of online grocery—including saving time, managing their budgets and reducing transportation barriers.”

The latest move is part of the company’s Instacart Health program, which it called a “sweeping business initiative” when it was introduced in September.

The program, which launched at the same time as the landmark White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, focuses on increasing access to healthy food, providing tools for nutritious grocery shopping, and creating a platform for healthcare providers and caregivers to order groceries for patients and others.

With that announcement, Instacart also expanded its EBT SNAP payment offering. Instacart on Tuesday said that 95% of the more than 30 million Americans experiencing food insecurity have access to delivery from retailers that accept EBT SNAP payment online via Instacart.

“As a company at the center of people’s relationship with what they eat, we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to do more,” Instacart CEO Fidji Simo said in a company blog post in September. “We’ve seen firsthand via independent and partner research studies that online grocery delivery helps people get access to fresh food, adopt healthier eating habits, save time, manage their budgets and eliminate transportation and mobility barriers to nutrition.”

Instacart launched Instacart in June, an updated version of its Instacart Express program. At the time, the company said that Instacart subscribers in 2021 spent nearly two times more each month than non-subscribers, as well as ordering from a greater diversity of retailers on the platform.

Instacart typically costs $9.99 a month or $99 per year.