Forbes.com

Uber Eats is planning to allow customers who are beneficiaries of government-funded food assistance programs to pay for food delivery using those government benefits, following in the footsteps of Instacart and Amazon, which began offering that feature to their customers earlier this year.

The change, set to go into effect next year, will mean that participants of the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, will be able to order groceries from the Uber Eats app using those benefits, the company said Wednesday.

In addition to SNAP, Uber said it’s working to accept flexible spending account (FSA) cards, Flex cards and state waiver payments through Managed Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans.

Uber said it made the change to reduce “barriers to fresh groceries,” particularly for vulnerable populations living in food deserts or those facing transportation barriers.

BIG NUMBER

41 million. That’s how many people received SNAP benefits in June, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, making it the largest food assistance program in the country.

KEY BACKGROUND

The USDA first started allowing SNAP recipients to buy groceries online in 2019, when it launched a pilot program in New York State, which had expanded to all 50 states by June. Walmart and Amazon partnered with the USDA as part of the pilot program. Instacart later partnered with the USDA to offer SNAP recipients the opportunity to shop online, and the company announced in August that it would expand SNAP acceptance to all 50 states.

TANGENT

Uber also revealed plans to launch an AI chatbot later this year for customers using food delivery services in an effort to expedite the shopping process.

FURTHER READING

Instacart Now Accepting SNAP Benefits For Online Shopping In All 50 States (USA Today)