Stop & Shop and Boston-based nonprofit About Fresh have partnered to expand access to fresh and healthy foods for people in need across New England. Through About Fresh’s “Fresh Connect” program, participants can use prepaid debit cards ‘prescribed’ by healthcare providers to purchase healthy food.
The partnership makes Stop & Shop the first major retailer to make this produce as a prescription program available.
After a successful pilot at Stop & Shop’s Grove Hall store location, the program is now available at more than 100 store locations in Eastern Massachusetts and will expand to all 400+ Stop & Shop stores by early spring.
According to the Greater Boston Food Bank, as many as 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 children in Massachusetts are struggling with food insecurity—numbers pushed higher by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With prepaid debit cards funded by healthcare organizations and a HIPAA-compliant platform, Fresh Connect’s produce as a prescription program empowers patients who are experiencing food insecurity with the money, convenience, and agency to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables that can help improve their overall health and wellbeing.
By working with Stop & Shop, hundreds of Fresh Connect participants can now easily shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at their local store, swipe the prepaid debit card at check out, and it will automatically deduct the cost of the produce from the total purchase price.
“Increasing access to fresh and healthy foods for those facing food insecurity remains a top priority for us when it comes to caring for our communities,” said Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop, in a statement. “With food insecurity continuing to impact the neighborhoods that Stop & Shop serves at an overwhelming rate, we’re proud to come together with About Fresh to ensure that even more people can access fresh, high-quality foods that support their wellbeing.”
Fresh Connect’s debit cards for qualifying individuals and families are primarily funded by major healthcare institutions like Brigham Medicaid ACO and Brigham Women’s Faulkner Hospital, and Boston Medical Center.
Prior to teaming up with Stop & Shop, Fresh Connect cardholders were able to use their cards at About Fresh’s “Fresh Trucks,” which offer fresh produce around the City of Boston, as well as other local retailers. By making Fresh Connect cards available for Stop & Shop shoppers, more card holders get the added convenience of access to fresh fruits and vegetables where they are already shopping.
"Especially in the midst of the global pandemic, working with Stop & Shop to ensure communities have access to fresh fruits and vegetables is more important than ever,” said Josh Trautwein, co-founder and CEO of About Fresh, in a statement. "By combining Stop & Shop’s reach across the Northeast with Fresh Connect’s innovative prescription produce program, thousands of people are gaining access to affordable, healthy food that they love.”
Related: FMI Highlights Food as Medicine Opportunity for Food Retailers; Accelerator Improves Access to Medically Tailored Meals.