The Power of Delivery: Expanding Access to Food with United Way in Michigan

Access to fresh, nutritious food isn’t always a given – especially for families who don’t have a full-service grocery store close to home. Instacart helps bridge the gap – providing access to groceries and the flexibility to shop from the stores that meet their unique tastes and needs. Online grocery and same-day delivery add convenience, making shopping more practical and easier to fit into busy lives.

Through Instacart, 98% of families enrolled in SNAP nationwide can shop online from full-service grocery stores with their benefits, gaining access to a wide selection of fresh foods, pantry staples, and essentials. For many families, being able to use SNAP benefits online means they can shop in a way that fits into their day-to-day lives – saving time, managing their budget more easily and accessing nutritious food without the barriers of distance or travel.

Building on this foundation, Heart of West Michigan United Way today launched a new Food Delivery Service Program to make online grocery even more accessible for SNAP families in Kent County. The program offers more than 200 SNAP-enrolled households up to four waived-fee orders per month for 18 months through Instacart Health Fresh Funds stipends, so families can use their benefits to shop online from their favorite local retailers on Instacart. Clients will be referred to enroll by 2-1-1 call staff, along with the Kent County Health Department staff and additional community-based organizations. In Michigan, SNAP customers can shop on Instacart from more than 900 stores across the state, including favorites like ALDI, Costco, Kroger, Meijer and more.

Research continues to show the power of expanding online grocery access for low-income families, including households enrolled in SNAP. A study from No Kid Hungry and the University of Kentucky found that families shopping online spent over $5 more per week on fruits and vegetables than those shopping in-store, without increasing their total grocery bill. Research from the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University shows that, after cost, the biggest barriers to healthy eating include a lack of healthy options where people shop (57%) and stores or food pantries offering nutritious foods being too far away (56%). 

By using Instacart’s platform to power this program, Heart of West Michigan United Way is helping families use their SNAP benefits online to get the fresh, nutritious food they need delivered to their doors.

“At United Way, we hear directly from families about the challenges they most often face in bringing groceries home – affordability, transportation, and time are often the biggest hurdles. Partnering with Instacart gives us a new way to address those challenges and make it easier for SNAP families across Kent County to access fresh, healthy food from local grocers. Our partnership shows how technology can strengthen community programs, helping families make the most of their SNAP benefits and put more healthy food on the table.”

– Becki Postma, Chief Impact Officer at Heart of West Michigan United Way

This model shows what’s possible when community organizations pair their local expertise with Instacart’s grocery technology. By waiving delivery and service fees, programs like this make it easier for families to shop online in a way that fits their lives. With Instacart’s nationwide reach, broad retailer network, and ability to pay with SNAP benefits online in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., we’re ready to help more organizations build similar programs that expand nutrition access in their communities.

This pilot in Michigan is one step forward, and we hope it inspires partners across the country to explore how grocery delivery can be used to increase access to nutritious food and make healthy eating more practical for every family.