Kroger goes companywide with online SNAP EBT acceptance

The Kroger Co. has enabled Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to use their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) accounts to pay for online grocery orders across its more than 2,700 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

To place digital orders with a Kroger Co. retail banner, SNAP users must create an account at Kroger.com or through the Kroger mobile app and then add an EBT account number as a new card under “My Account” and “Wallet,” the Cincinnati-based supermarket giant said Wednesday.

Next, SNAP customers can start shopping by adding SNAP-eligible items to their online cart. Once finished, they choose a pickup or delivery time and, at the checkout screen, select EBT as the payment method and enter the PIN to confirm the order.

Kroger noted that it recently collaborated “over many months” with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), manager of SNAP, to activate EBT online acceptance across all banners via the Kroger app or website for both pickup and delivery service. The retailer said that, during the pandemic, it also took part in a USDA pilot to test SNAP EBT payment capability.

Overall, Kroger’s brick-and-mortar retail base includes supermarkets and multi-department stores under more than 20 banners, such as Kroger, Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Pick N’ Save, Metro Market, Mariano’s, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less and Foods Co.

Related:FMI, NGA back Senate bill to nix SNAP transaction fees for grocers

“We believe everyone should have access to fresh, affordable and nutritious food,” Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said in a statement. “I am so proud of our passionate teams who worked closely with the USDA to remove barriers to healthy foods so that more of America can access the food they need to thrive.”

SNAP beneficiaries with Kroger Co. online accounts also can access personalized digital offers to optimize savings on products they regularly buy, as well as use the grocer’s free OptUP nutrition rating system, Kroger added. OptUP enables customers to view nutrition scores for their favorite items as they shop plus explore better-for-you options and shop items for specialized diets, such as low sodium, no added sugar or containing probiotics.

SNAP branches out

Through July, the latest data available from FNS, 41.3 million people and 21.9 million households participated in SNAP nationwide. Average monthly benefits were $327.46 per household and $173.96 per person.

As of the end of 2022, about 259,000 retailers were authorized to accept SNAP benefits for purchases, up 1.7% from 254,000 in 2021, and SNAP redemptions totaled approximately $138 billion, up 10% from $126 billion in 2021.

Related:Fred Meyer, QFC enable EBT payment for SNAP online purchases

Under the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, launched by the USDA’s FNS in April 2019, all 50 states and D.C. now allow SNAP beneficiaries to shop and pay for groceries online. Initially, Walmart and Amazon were the only grocery retailers enabling SNAP online grocery shopping on a national scale, but that has expanded to include large supermarket chains like Aldi, The Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos.

In March, the USDA also unveiled a five-state pilot—including Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and Oklahoma—to test the ability for SNAP customers to use their smartphones to buy groceries at the checkout counter. The goal is to enable SNAP participants to input their EBT account information into a mobile device and make purchases at the point-of-sale without their card.