DoorDash and Instacart announced plans to improve access to healthy foods as part of their commitment to goals laid out at a White House event that followed up on last year's White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Heath to help end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030.
DoorDash announced that the following will be completed by 2025:
• Growing the availability of produce in its marketplace by partnering with grocers.
• Keeping healthy options top of mind for consumers by promoting healthy products.
• Offering access to SNAP/EBT grocery delivery in every state in the country, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
“As part of our mission to empower local economies, we’re proud to broaden food access for the communities we serve,” said Max Rettig, vice president of public policy and social impact at DoorDash, in a statement. “Local delivery can help reduce transportation and other barriers by giving people access to nutritious food and healthy choices in a convenient and dignified way. DoorDash is proud to once again support the administration’s call to action as part of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health and we look forward to continuing to work together to explore innovative solutions to end hunger in America.”
Instacart announced the availability of a suite of digital tools for providers to promote healthy choices for patients and their families. This is accomplished through “fresh funds,” stipends that providers can give to their patients for use on nutritious foods on the app, as well as “care carts,” which enable providers to send custom grocery deliveries directly to patients in their care.
“We know that access to nutritious foods can deliver healthier outcomes, but a number of challenges have prevented healthcare providers from effectively adopting food as medicine programs at scale. With Instacart Health, we have the unique opportunity to partner with providers to expand proven nutrition programs and more deeply integrate food as medicine into standard patient care,” said Sarah Mastrorocco, vice president and general manager of Instacart Health, in a statement.
The digital grocer also revealed updated capabilities to its platform that allow produce brands to advertise fresh, weighted items like carrots, grapes, and onions, across the Instacart Marketplace. Previously, only packaged produce could be advertised. According to the company, this decision will help create more opportunities for users to discover nutritious foods.
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