Instacart Health technology connects 500 DC families in need
with free grocery delivery and monthly funds to spend on fresh
produce
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Instacart (Nasdaq: CART), the leading grocery
technology company in North
America, Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA),
Building Bridges Across the River, and Martha's Table today
announced the launch of the Good Food at Home in DC. The
program will provide 500 Washington,
DC families in Wards 7 and 8 with a $60 monthly Instacart Health Fresh Funds stipend
to buy fresh fruits and vegetables on Instacart, as well as free
grocery delivery.
Nearly one third of residents in the greater Washington, DC area were food insecure within
the last year, according to a recent report. That's a figure which
has gone virtually unchanged from the prior year. Residents of DC's
Wards 7 and 8 face the highest rates of food insecurity due to
challenges accessing nutritious food, including affordability,
availability and transportation, among others. In fact, in Wards 7
and 8, there are just 3 full-service grocery stores serving
150,000 residents compared to 8 full-service grocery stores serving
84,000 residents in Ward 3.
This initiative is part of PHA's Good Food at Home program,
which provides families facing access barriers to nutritious food
with fresh produce, and Instacart Health, a sweeping business
initiative from Instacart, that leverages the power of Instacart's
platform, products and partnerships to expand access to nutritious
food, inspire sustainable healthy choices, and scale food as
medicine programs across the country. Instacart has made a larger
commitment with PHA to bring 10 million servings of produce to
nutrition insecure families across the U.S. over the next three
years. Following the success of PHA's and Instacart's Good Food at
Home program launch in Indianapolis, Washington, DC is the next city to pilot the
produce credit model using Instacart Health Fresh Funds. The
program was announced alongside a cooking demonstration and campus
tour at the Building Bridges' Town Hall Education Arts Recreation
Campus (THEARC).
"For one in six Americans, healthy food is too expensive, too
far away, or both," said Noreen
Springstead, President & CEO of PHA. "This new phase
of our Good Food at Home program will not only connect DC 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 & vegetable consumption."
The program is providing 500 families with a 4-month
complimentary Instacart+ membership and $60/month of Fresh Funds for three consecutive
months to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables through Instacart.
With Instacart+, individuals can access free delivery and pickup on
all orders over $35, 5% credit back
on eligible Pickup orders, and reduced service fees on every
order.
"With Instacart Health, we are harnessing our technology and
scale to reimagine what the future of nutrition security and health
can look like. Through our partnership with PHA, we are combining
the power of online grocery and delivery, plus innovative programs
like the Good Food At Home program to break down access barriers
for families across the country," said Dani Dudeck, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at
Instacart. "We are thrilled to bring Fresh Funds to
Washington, DC in partnership with
PHA to offer families better access to healthy and affordable food
in the nation's capital."
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Partnership for a
Healthier America, Instacart, and Martha's Table in an effort to
increase affordable access to nutritious food for families in
Washington, DC. Food Justice is
foundational to the mission of Building Bridges Across the River
and informs the collaborations and partnerships we forge," said
Rahsaan Bernard, president and
CEO, Building Bridges Across the River.
"Through our joyful markets, cooking demonstrations, and other
health and wellness programs, our community members show us that
they want fresh fruits and vegetables, but soaring food prices and
lack of transportation serve as tremendous barriers. Our
partnership with PHA, Instacart, and Building Bridges Across the
River through the Good Food At Home program makes it easier for
busy, hard working families to achieve their healthy food goals
with just a few clicks of a button," said Tiffany Williams, President & CEO of
Martha's Table.
"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 DC Attorney General,
Brian Schwalb. "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."
Washington, DC is the second
city to launch the Good Food at Home program. Earlier this year,
PHA, Instacart, and Indianapolis
Mayor Joe Hogsett partnered to bring
the program to Indianapolis and
provided 600 local families with three months of Fresh Funds
stipends and complimentary Instacart+ membership. Results from the
program found that the produce credits helped 78% of
participant's families build healthier habits.
Since May of 2020, PHA's Good Food at Home program has connected
tens of thousands of families in 30+ cities with over 34 million
servings of produce. Following participation in the program, 58% of
participants increased vegetable consumption and 51% increased
fruit consumption.
Instacart partners with more than 1,400 national, regional, and
local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and
pickup services from more than 80,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace.
Today, Instacart is accessible to more than 95% of U.S. households,
including 93% of people living in food deserts and nearly 95% of
the 42 million people enrolled in SNAP. Instacart Health launched
in collaboration with the White House Conference on Hunger,
Nutrition and Health last fall with a focus on delivering the
ingredients for healthier living through Instacart's products,
partnerships and policy advocacy.
About Partnership for a Healthier America
Partnership
for a Healthier America is the premier national nonprofit
organization working to create lasting, systemic changes that
transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity. PHA
develops evidence-based approaches that are implemented in
partnership with the private sector, nonprofits, and government,
leveraging PHA's assets and the partner's knowledge to accelerate
the pace of transformation. Learn more
at www.ahealthieramerica.org.
About Instacart
Instacart, the leading grocery
technology company in North
America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how
people shop. The company partners with more than
1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to
facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more
than 80,000 stores across North
America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it
possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from
the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart
shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their
own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a
suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power
their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize
brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean
insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from
category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to
connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of
purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to
increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for
consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving
health outcomes. For more information, visit
www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit
www.instacart.com.
About Building Bridges Across the River
Building
Bridges Across the River provides residents East of the Anacostia
River access to the best-in-class facilities, programs and
partnerships in arts and culture, economic opportunity, education,
recreation, health, and well-being. Our theory of change lists our
core constituencies as Black and Brown communities, low-income
people, and families and children who reside in Wards 7 and 8 in
Washington, DC. We specifically
reach Black families living at or below 50% AMI. Building Bridges
leads collaboration among 14 nonprofits in permanent residence on
our campus, along with a network of 7 urban farms, the Skyland
Workforce Center, and the 11th Street Bridge Park.
About Martha's Table
Four decades ago, Martha's Table
opened our doors to children in need of a safe place and a warm
meal after school. Over the years, we have evolved to meet the
changing needs and growing aspirations of our communities. Today,
Martha's Table works in deep collaboration with our neighbors to
deliver on our mission to support strong children, strong families,
and strong communities in the District of
Columbia. We do so by providing a holistic range of services
focused on high-quality education, health and wellness, family
supports, and community investments that help our neighbors,
particularly those in Wards 7 and 8, move from instability to
thriving.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/instacart-partnership-for-a-healthier-america-building-bridges-across-the-river-and-marthas-table-launch-new-program-to-help-washington-dc-families-access-more-fruits-and-vegetables-302005497.html
SOURCE Instacart