Instacart’s New Venture to Help Boost Nutritional Security

Instacart, North America's largest grocery technology company, has introduced Instacart Health, a broad new project aimed at providing the ingredients for healthier living. Instacart Health is designed to help boost nutrition security, offer simpler healthy choices for consumers, and broaden the role food plays in enhancing health outcomes. Instacart aims to achieve this through new products, strategic collaborations, state-of-the-art research, and policy advocacy commitments.

Instacart Health was launched in tandem with the monumental White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health – which witnessed attendance from the CEO of Instacart, Fidji Simo. The importance of the connection between food and health, the significant role that businesses in the private sector can play, and the necessity of public-private partnerships are all highlighted by Instacart Health. Instacart Health introduces a range of new products, strategic collaborations, and policy commitments, all of which stand on three key pillars - Health Made Easy, Nutrition Security, and Food as Medicine. 

"Instacart has become a staple in millions of households, which puts us at the heart of the relationship that people have with food, and therefore, their health. We have a responsibility to use the power of our platform, products, and partnerships to expand access to nutritious food and improve health outcomes," said Instacart CEO Fidji Simo.

"Our nation's hunger and health problems are complex and require cross-sector collaboration. At Instacart, we're building the technologies that can help many organizations - from healthcare providers, insurers, nonprofits, employers, and health experts - give more people access to fresh, nutritious foods with dignity, speed, and convenience. We know we can't solve these issues alone and we're honored to be among those participating at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health," Sumo further adds. 

Here are some of the new products, collaborations, and commitments that were announced as part of the launch of Instacart Health:

‍Fresh Funds to Support Nutrition Incentives and Food Prescriptions 

Fresh Funds, a new offering from Instacart, enables any organization, including nonprofits, insurance providers, and employers, among others, to give individuals money to purchase healthy foods from grocery stores using the Instacart App. In order to encourage healthy behaviors and provide individuals with access to nutritious foods that could otherwise be prohibitively expensive, organizations will be able to mandate and limit spending to specific food categories with the help of Fresh Funds.

‍Partnership for a Healthier America, a renowned nonprofit devoted to transforming the food industry in the interest of health equity, and Instacart plan to come together to start a Fresh Funds pilot program. Starting in Indianapolis, the pilot program aims to eventually cover the entire country by 2023.   

‍New Care Carts to Enhance Collaborative Care

Additionally, Instacart unveiled a fresh product called Care Carts, which enables caregivers and healthcare professionals to place grocery orders on behalf of others. Care Carts is a fresh method of delivering groceries to others, whether you are a healthcare professional who needs to deliver medical supplies and groceries to patients after they have been discharged from the hospital, a clinician who wishes to provide groceries for a patient's recommended meal plan, or a caregiver who needs to give groceries to a family or friend from a distance.

‍Modernization of Medicaid Benefits

Programs that address health barriers, such as time and transportation, can have a significant impact on health outcomes for many low-income people who depend on Medicaid. Fresh Funds, Care Carts, and Shoppable Lists, when used alone or collectively, can aid in removing these obstacles to good health. 

‍Health Tags and New Health Information

Customers may now read up to 23 item-level labels while shopping on Instacart, such as low-sugar, low-salt, gluten-free, and keto, thanks to Health Tags. The Instacart catalog's 500,000 goods now all have health tags available. This kind of information is crucial for customers with dietary restrictions and food sensitivities since it makes it easier for them to find products that meet their requirements.    

Healthier Recipes on Instacart 

By incorporating a sizable collection of fresh recipes from its lifestyle, health, and wellness brands, such as Men’s Health, Women's Health, and Prevention magazines, Instacart is extending its collection of healthy recipes in collaboration with Hearst Magazines.  Customers can now shop for 3,000+ recipes from renowned Dotdash Meredith brands like EatingWell, Parents, and All Recipes and Hearst titles like Delish through Instacart's partnerships with leading publishers like Dotdash Meredith and Hearst Magazines.

‍Influencers Inspiring Fresh Shopping Behavior

The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Ciara has partnered with Instacart to offer her shoppable Cart, which is filled with her favorite groceries that help keep her mind and body fed for the demands of her active and hectic life as a singer, dancer, and mother of three. To help consumers get motivated and try something new with only a few taps, Instacart is also collaborating with a variety of chefs, registered dietitians, registered health influencers, and wellness experts to offer their recipes and Carts.

New Commitments to Improve Accessibility & Affordability of Nutrition

In 2023, Instacart committed to working with the USDA to make EBT SNAP payments available to its grocery partners in all 50 states, with the aim of making EBT SNAP payments available to all of its grocery partners by 2030. With new technology made available to retailers, Instacart is also making it simple for customers to shop with EBT SNAP benefits within the store. With this technology, customers can quickly scan a product to see if it is eligible for EBT SNAP benefits, saving time while they shop.

Through fundraising efforts, collaborative programming, and technological advancements, Instacart and Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) will work to providing 10 million servings of fruits and vegetables to families across the US over the next three years. With this pledge, Instacart is pleased to support PHA's commitment to provide 100 million servings of fruits and vegetables to families who are nutritionally undernourished through fundraising campaigns, collaborative programming, and technological advancements to advance our shared goal of ensuring everyone has access to nutritional security. 

Instacart intends to make it possible for customers to use their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits to purchase everyday necessities starting in 2023. TANF is a federal cash assistance program that helps low-income families buy household necessities like diapers and toilet paper. Additionally, families will be allowed to utilize their TANF payments to pay for Instacart service and delivery fees that are not currently covered by their EBT SNAP benefits.