Instacart launches produce stipend program in D.C.

Instacart is expanding its Fresh Funds program to 500 Washington, D.C., residents, providing monthly stipends for groceries and complimentary memberships for its Instacart premium service.  

The San Francisco-based delivery service announced Tuesday that the Good Food at Home initiative is through a collaboration with Partner for a Healthier America, Building Bridges Across the River and Martha’s Table. Residents of the 7th and 8th wards in D.C. will receive $60 a month for three months in Instacart Health Fresh Funds, which can be used to order fruit and vegetables on Instacart.  

Recipients will also receive four free months of Instacart , which includes free delivery for orders over $35 and reduced service fees. 

The rollout of the D.C. program follows the March launch of the Fresh Funds initiative in Indianapolis, where 640 recipients received similar stipends and Instacart memberships.  

Almost a third of D.C.-area residents were food insecure over the last year, and in the 7th and 8th wards, there are only three full-service grocery stores to serve 150,000 residents, Instacart noted, citing a report from the Capital Area Food Bank of D.C.  

“The district has a longstanding history of food insecurity, and far too many Washingtonians struggle to access affordable, nutritious food options. This collaboration between Instacart, Partnership for a Healthier America and local nonprofit leaders underscores the power of public and private partnerships in addressing this critical issue,” said D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb in a statement. “Now, hundreds of Ward 7 and 8 families will have access to healthier foods, which is a critical step towards closing this equity gap in communities east of the river.” 

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Instacart and the Partnership for a Healthier America aim to provide 10 million servings of produce to food-insecure people over the next three years.  

“For one in six Americans, healthy food is too expensive, too far away or both,” said Noreen Springstead, president and CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America, in a statement. “This new phase of our Good Food at Home program will not only connect D.C. families with healthy food in the short term, but we know from our work in previous cities that it will also help to build long-term, healthy habits of fruit and vegetable consumption.”