Rosie Helps Independent Grocers Accept SNAP Payments Online

E-commerce platform Rosie launched its online SNAP program for independent retailers to accept SNAP benefits online, which the company says will help level the playing field with bigger chains already the capability.

Independent grocer Davis Food & Drug in Utah allows shoppers using SNAP benefits to pay for their groceries bought online using their EBT cards.

“Accepting SNAP payments online is going to make a world of difference,” Jodi Drake, e-commerce lead for Davis Food & Drug in Utah, said in a statement. “Serving our community is what we do best, and we’re now able to fulfill a need our customers have thanks to Rosie.”

Rosie said the program will help grocers assist the 12% of shoppers that use EBT payments.

As estimated by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1 in 9 Americans relies on EBT benefits, and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services’ (FNS) most recent expansion of the SNAP program’s online platform, shoppers can take advantage of SNAP/EBT payments at their local grocery stores. 

During the pandemic, the National Grocers Association (NGA), which has pushed for independent retailers to accept SNAP payments online, launched a SNAP Online Purchasing Toolkit to help independent grocers add SNAP as a payment option for online orders—a process the Washington, D.C.-based association said is often financially and technically tougher for smaller retailers.

“Due to these obstacles, chain retailers often have an edge against smaller businesses,” said Molly Pfaffenroth, senior director of government relations for NGA, in a release.

“With grocery e-commerce a part of our everyday lives, it's essential that independent grocers have the tools they need to provide solutions to the underserved in their community, and compete and win against national chains,” says Jon Mareane, Rosie’s software rollouts lead. “Technology continues to advance, and we’re proud to be part of a program that is impacting hundreds of thousands of SNAP recipients nationwide.”

The e-commerce company said its technology and development teams prioritized SNAP online with the help of the company’s retailers, FNS, and Fiserv since Rosie's partner, Dash’s Market, was selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in January 2017 to participate in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot.