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

Service now offered via deep discount grocer’s locations in 29 states and D.C.

Russell Redman

December 17, 2020

4 Min Read
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SNAP EBT online payment for Instacart delivery and pickup orders launched today at Aldi stores across 23 states and Washington, D.C.Russell Redman

Aldi and Instacart have expanded their integration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) electronic benefit transfer (EBT) payments in online grocery orders to nearly 1,000 more of the deep discount grocer’s stores.

EBT SNAP online payment for Instacart delivery and pickup orders launched Thursday at Aldi stores across 23 states and Washington, D.C. The companies unveiled their SNAP EBT partnership in late October, rolling out the capability to more than 60 Aldi stores in Georgia in November and then to 570-plus Aldi stores in Illinois, California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas in early December.

“Aldi is proud to be the first grocery retailer to accept EBT SNAP benefits as a form of payment online via Instacart for grocery delivery and curbside pickup,” Scott Patton, vice president of national customer interaction services for Aldi U.S., said in a statement. “This service is now available at nearly 90% of Aldi stores, across 29 states and Washington, D.C., following successful pilots in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas.”

With the integrated capability, EBT SNAP participants can buy fresh food and groceries from Aldi via Instacart’s same-day delivery and pickup services. SNAP customers shop Aldi on the retailer’s page on Instacart’s online marketplace and mobile app. After setting up an Instacart profile, customers enter their EBT food card information as a form of payment. A secondary form of payment for nonfood items — such as taxes, tips and fees, according to SNAP guidelines — also will be needed.

Related:Aldi, Instacart team on EBT integration for SNAP online grocery purchases

Next, customers enter their ZIP code to find a participating Aldi store, and then they can start shopping from Aldi’s EBT SNAP-eligible products. After filling their virtual shopping carts, customers select delivery or pickup and determine how much of their SNAP benefits they would like to allocate to the order. Instacart personal shoppers then pick and pack customers’ orders and then ready them for pickup or delivery in the designated time frame.

New with the expansion, Instacart said it will waive delivery and/or pickup fees on up to the first three EBT SNAP orders for each customer with a valid EBT card associated with their Instacart account. The San Francisco-based company said the offer, available over a 90-day period effective yesterday, will help subsidize costs for EBT SNAP beneficiaries.

“Today, we’re proud to further our mission and continue our commitment to being a long-term solution for EBT SNAP households across America,” commented Andrew Nodes, vice president of retail at Instacart. “As the country continues to grapple with COVID-19, we recognize the important role Instacart and its retail partners play in making same-day grocery delivery and pickup available to more people nationwide. We’re proud of the work we’ve done with Aldi and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to unlock EBT SNAP online payments for more families, and we look forward to continuing to expand this important program.”

Related:USDA expands SNAP online purchasing to more retailers

Along with the District of Columbia, the expansion includes Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

“This SNAP pilot comes at a critical time in our response to the pandemic, when we are focused on doing everything we can to get our community to the other side of this,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. “Now more than ever, Washingtonians across all eight wards need a way to safely access nutritious food while limiting their exposure to other people. Delivery and grab-and-go services have played an important role in our response. And now, by ensuring EBT SNAP recipients can access delivery from Aldi through Instacart, more D.C. residents can get the fresh fruits, vegetables and groceries they need while still slowing the spread of the virus and protecting their families.”

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SNAP customers shopping Aldi through Instacart enter their EBT food card information as a form of payment. 

 

Under the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in April 2019, 46 states and the District of Columbia now allow SNAP beneficiaries to shop and pay for groceries online. The latest rollout by Aldi and Instacart follows FNS’ approval allowing the two companies to expand their online EBT SNAP pilot.

“I am excited to learn of Instacart and Alid’s heightened efforts to expand safe purchasing and delivery options for New Yorkers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and I applaud [New York State] Sen. Kaminsky for getting S8247-A signed into law,” stated Sen. Roxanne Persaud, chair of the NYS Senate Social Services Committee. “The levels of food insecurity New Yorkers have experienced in 2020 brings to light the indiscriminate nature of hunger and need that have long plagued communities across our great state. We must continue to reach more New Yorkers in need.”

Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi U.S. began offering delivery service through Instacart in 2018. Currently, Instacart delivers from Aldi’s more than 2,000 stores in 36 states.

“I am pleased to see the expansion of the Electronic Benefit Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT SNAP) in Illinois through the public-private partnership of Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker, IDHS, Aldi and Instacart,” commented Illinois State Rep. Jaime Andrade. “This initiative is a significant step in ensuring equitable food access for all.”

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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