Instacart will accept food stamps for grocery delivery

Grocery delivery service Instacart will soon begin accepting food stamps as a form of payment within its app. The company announced that “in the coming weeks,” it’s beginning a pilot with grocery chain Aldi to accept food stamps for its same-day delivery and pickup service.

The pilot program will start in Georgia, but will expand to Aldi stores in Illinois, California, Florida and Pennsylvania “in the coming months.”

Grocery delivery services have faced unprecedented demand since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as more people are eager to avoid crowded stores. But those who receive food stamps, otherwise known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, aren’t always able access to grocery delivery services. That’s changing with Instacart’s pilot program, which will allow people to select EBT SNAP cards as a payment option when ordering from Aldi stores.

Instacart says the change is particularly important now, as the coronavirus pandemic has caused millions of families to deal with food insecurity. More than six million people signed up for food stamps during the first three months of the pandemic alone, according toThe New York Times. Now, they’ll have more options to get groceries safely if they want to avoid shopping in person.