E-tail giant extends its reach to more than 99% of SNAP households
Amazon is working to enable virtually all households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to use electronic benefits transfer (EBT) to pay for online grocery orders.
Amazon said last week that its e-grocery services now reach SNAP recipients in 48 states and the District of Columbia giving over 99% of SNAP households the ability to use their benefits online with the e-tailer. Through early April, just under 22 million households received SNAP benefits.
SNAP customers can shop for groceries via two Amazon services: Amazon Grocery (shelf-stable food and household items, in varying sizes) and Amazon Fresh (fresh foods such as produce, meat and other items, available in selected metropolitan regions), both with free shipping available. To reduce barriers to entry for online grocery shopping, Amazon noted that it has waived the Prime membership requirement for SNAP participants to access Amazon Fresh.
“With online acceptance of SNAP, Amazon’s selection, competitive pricing and home delivery can improve the grocery shopping experience for SNAP participants,” Amazon said in a blog post on Wednesday announcing expanded SNAP EBT access.
The pilot stems from the 2014 Farm Bill, which authorized the USDA to test online purchasing for recipients before rolling it out nationally. FNS, which administers SNAP, issued a call for retailer volunteers for the pilot in September 2016 and then in January 2017 offered participation in the initiative’s first phase to Amazon, Walmart, ShopRite, Safeway, Hy-Vee, FreshDirect, Dash’s Market and Wright’s Markets. Dozens of chain and independent grocers now take part in the program.
Overall, SNAP online grocery shopping is now available in 49 states and D.C., with Alaska being the only state where the service hasn’t yet been approved. Amazon, Walmart and Aldi are the only grocery retailers enabling SNAP online grocery shopping on a national scale.
