Building Healthier Communities: Wellness West and Instacart Health’s Ongoing Impact in Chicago’s West Side

Too many families on Chicago’s West Side struggle to access nutritious food – a challenge that directly shapes their long-term health. That’s why, in 2023, Instacart Health partnered with Wellness West, a coalition of more than 40 of Chicago’s health and social service institutions, to launch the Food Connections program to tackle food insecurity across the community. Using Instacart’s technology, we’re helping Wellness West connect patients to food that has shown to improve health. Today, we’re announcing results from the second year of the program to leverage the scale and convenience of Instacart’s technology to address food insecurity and improve health outcomes across the West Side of Chicago. 

Wellness West’s Food Connections program offers eligible participants a monthly grocery stipend of $79, delivered through Instacart Health Fresh Funds, that can be used to purchase nutritious foods like fresh and frozen produce, and other essentials like water, for delivery or pickup via Instacart. The digital stipend can be combined with other benefits, like SNAP or eligible supplemental health benefits, allowing participants to complete their full shop in one order, making it easier and more accessible to get the food they need.

In just the first year of the program, over 600 patients received Fresh Funds with 59% of patients with hypertension improving their blood pressure rate, 49% of patients with diabetes improving their hemoglobin A1c levels, and 7% of patients with depression improving their symptoms.

In its second year, the Food Connections program continued to expand its reach and deepen its impact. In 2024, Wellness West grew the program to serve more than 850 patients – an increase in enrollment from the prior year – and reported even stronger clinical outcomes across key health indicators:

• 87% of patients with depression had an improvement in their symptoms. 

• 79% of patients with hypertension improved their blood pressure rate. 

• 49% of patients with diabetes became controlled. 

“Nearly half of our patients struggle with food insecurity, making support programs like Food Connections essential in communities like ours. Through our partnership with Instacart, we’ve been able to provide more families consistent access to healthy foods that both support their treatment plans and their daily lives. The results from the second year of our partnership are a testament to how removing food access barriers can lead to measurable improvements in health and quality of life.” – Misty Drake, Executive Director, Wellness West.

At Instacart Health, we believe food should play a central role in improving health outcomes. We are proud that our technology can support community-based partners that are redefining care by putting access to nutritious food at the center. The positive results from our partnership with Wellness West reaffirm why we created Instacart Health: to use our technology and reach to make nutritious food more accessible to everyone. Together with organizations like Wellness West, we’re bridging the gap between food and health – and helping more people live healthier lives.