Shipt Continues Efforts to Reduce Food
Insecurity and Increase Access to Nutritious Foods
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting today, retail
technology company Shipt announced it will accept SNAP EBT
(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) payments on marketplace
orders. This upgrade to Shipt's marketplace will increase
access to healthy, affordable foods to almost 74 percent of
America's food deserts, and to over 86 million Americans living in
communities where over 1 in 10 households receive SNAP EBT
benefits*.
SNAP recipients will have access to a discounted monthly
membership offer of $4.99, which is
over 50% off a standard Shipt monthly membership. This Shipt
membership offer for SNAP EBT recipients does not expire at any
time and grants members access to all of Shipt's exclusive
membership benefits such as $0
delivery fee with a $35 order minimum
and Shipt's beloved Preferred Shopper feature. SNAP recipients will
be able to use their benefits towards marketplace orders from
Meijer and Target.
"Keeping people at the center of everything we do is part of our
DNA as a company, and one concrete way Shipt puts this value to
work is by helping communities tackle food insecurity," said
Shipt VP of Economic and Social Impact Khadijah Abdullah.
"Accepting SNAP EBT payments is another step in Shipt's efforts to
reduce hunger, and we are proud to help more Americans access
affordable, nutritious foods in a convenient way– no matter their
income, their transportation resources, or where they live."
By accepting SNAP EBT payments on marketplace orders, Shipt is
helping eliminate a key barrier and providing greater access to
affordable, nutritious food. The University of
Michigan and Shipt have collaborated on several research
projects demonstrating the benefits of grocery delivery to
individuals with low income or food insecurity:
- In one study, researchers found that grocery delivery services
improved access to healthy foods for 70 percent of participants.
The study assessed the feasibility of a program to deliver healthy
foods to pregnant youth with low income.
- Another project, funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Michigan, – which tested the
viability of a program to provide food stipends and delivery
services to improve the health of individuals with low income or
food insecurity and Type 2 diabetes – underscores the important
role delivery services play in connecting underserved populations
to nutritious foods. The initial results show that a majority of
participants reported that grocery delivery helped them make
healthier meals and that they were more aware of their food
choices.
"No one organization can solve food insecurity alone – it takes
a collection of voices coming together to support and advocate for
communities in need," said Alliance to End Hunger President
Eric Mitchell. "We applaud
Shipt's upgrades to accept SNAP EBT payments, and are thrilled to
have such a community-minded company join us in our mission to end
hunger."
The SNAP EBT announcement is the latest milestone in Shipt's
initiatives to reduce food insecurity and increase access to
nutritious foods, which were previously announced at the White
House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Shipt has also
provided over 12 million meals for food-insecure individuals
through its longtime partnership with Feeding America, and since
2022, has awarded $500,000
through its annual grants program to community organizations
and nonprofits focused on addressing food insecurity, economic
disparities and workforce development.
Shipt will be working with Worldpay as the payment processor for
SNAP EBT payments. SNAP recipients interested in learning more
about Shipt can visit shipt.com/snap.
*Based on census tract population data in the Shipt coverage
area. Shipt coverage areas can map to multiple census tracts. Shipt
defines a 'food desert' using the following definition provided by
the USDA in the Food Access Research Atlas 2019: "Low-income census
tracts where a significant number (at least 500 people) or share
(at least 33 percent) of the population is greater than 1 mile from
the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store for an
urban area or greater than 10 miles for a rural area.
About Shipt
Shipt is a retail tech company that connects people to reliable,
high-quality delivery with a personal touch. Through the power of
technology, Shipt connects customers to the things they want from
the stores they love, workers to new earning opportunities, and
retail businesses to more satisfied customers. Headquartered in
Birmingham, Alabama, Shipt brings
people the flexible solutions they need with the above-and-beyond
service they expect. Shipt is an independently operated subsidiary
of Target Corp. and available in more than 5,000 U.S. cities. For
more information, please visit Shipt's Newsroom.
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SOURCE Shipt