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Food Lion launches SNAP EBT payment for Instacart orders

Rollout at 350-plus North Carolina stores to expand to more states

Russell Redman

February 11, 2021

3 Min Read
Food Lion To Go-curbside service copy.jpg
Instacart's SNAP EBT integration with Food Lion marks its second such partnership with a food retailer, the first being Aldi last fall.Food Lion

Food Lion has partnered with Instacart to enable Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to directly pay for online grocery orders through electronic benefit transfer (EBT).

San Francisco-based Instacart said Thursday that the capability is now available at more than 350 Food Lion supermarkets across North Carolina, covering about a third of the Ahold Delhaize USA chain’s store base. Food Lion shoppers receiving SNAP benefits can use the new EBT service for both online grocery delivery and pickup orders.

Currently, SNAP EBT payments are available only through the Instacart marketplace. At the site, Food Lion SNAP EBT customers select their local store and then shop eligible products. After adding items to their virtual cart, customers designate the amount of their benefits that they would like to allocate to the order, choose pickup or delivery, and then complete their transaction.

Food Lion provides online grocery delivery and pickup under the Food Lion To-Go brand via its website and mobile app, both powered by Instacart Enterprise. SNAP EBT payment capability will be enabled on the Food Lion site and app in the coming months, according to Instacart.

To help subsidize costs for SNAP beneficiaries, Instacart will waive delivery and/or pickup fees for the first three EBT SNAP orders through March 16. Customers must have a valid EBT card associated with their Instacart account.  

Related:Aldi, Instacart expand SNAP online EBT to over 1,500 stores

Instacart and Food Lion have partnered since 2016, and the Salisbury, N.C.-based grocer currently offers same-day delivery and pickup at more than 600 of its 1,000-plus stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.

The launch comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approved North Carolina as the first state for Instacart and Food Lion’s EBT SNAP partnership, the online grocery giant said. Plans call for the capability to roll out to Food Lion stores in Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia in the coming weeks.

Instacart noted that the partnership with Food Lion marks its second with a food retailer, the first being its EBT SNAP integration with discount grocer Aldi in October 2020. The payment service first launched at more than 60 Aldi stores in Georgia and then rolled out to more than 570 Aldi stores in Illinois, California, Florida and Pennsylvania in the ensuing months. That was followed in December with an expansion to another 1,000 Aldi stores, with the service now at the chain’s stores in 29 states — including North Carolina — and the District of Columbia. 

Related:H-E-B enables SNAP EBT payments for curbside, delivery orders

Under the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, launched by the USDA's FNS in April 2019, 47 states and the District of Columbia now allow SNAP beneficiaries to shop and pay for groceries online.

Instacart’s move to integrate EBT SNAP payment came amid increased food insecurity nationwide due to the coronavirus crisis. 

“As the country continues to grapple with the effects of COVID-19, we believe Instacart has an opportunity to increase access to fresh, nutritious food and pantry staples by unlocking EBT SNAP payments for online grocery delivery and pickup services,” Instacart said in a statement. 

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Ahold Delhaize USA

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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