ICYMI: App-based Industry Commits to Improving Food Access in Response to President Biden’s White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, at the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years, President Biden announced an ambitious goal to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030 while closing health disparities. In response to the President’s call for public-private partnership to meet this goal, the app-based industry has stepped up with robust commitments to enhance food access and reduce health disparities, particularly among historically underserved communities most impacted by food insecurity and diet-related diseases.

Today, DoorDash, Instacart, and Shipt announced the following commitments to advance the President’s goal:

• DoorDash is partnering with 18 mayors across the country to broaden food access by providing $1 million in Community Credits gift cards, proprietary DoorDash data on local food access needs, direct funding for in-kind delivery of charitable food, and DoorDash logistics via Project DASH to meet the unique needs of each community. DoorDash is proud to partner with Mayors across the country including: Mesa and Tucson in Arizona; Oakland and Riverside in California; Paterson and Camden City in New Jersey; Albany, Mt. Vernon, and Rochester in New York; Columbus, Ohio; Tacoma, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Hartford, Connecticut; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and Richmond, Virginia.

• Instacart is launching Instacart Health, a sweeping new health and nutrition initiative featuring new technologies, partnerships, research, and policy priorities and advocacy commitments. With Instacart Health, the company is committing to expand EBT SNAP to all 50 states in 2023, setting a goal to expand EBT SNAP and TANF to all Instacart grocery partners by 2030, and committing to bring 10 million servings of fruits and vegetables to families across the U.S. over the next 3 years. Instacart rolled out several new products and partnerships that help health care providers prescribe and send nutritious food to patients, allow nonprofits and insurers to fund stipends for healthy food, and nutritionists and chefs to inspire consumers to make healthier shopping decisions. To further their commitment, Instacart also published the Instacart Health Policy Agenda, outlining the company’s policy priorities and advocacy commitments to enhance nutrition security and improve health outcomes.

• Shipt CEO Kamau Witherspoon spoke at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health about the company’s new initiatives to reduce food insecurity and increase access to nutritious foods. Recognizing that online delivery can play an important role in expanding food access, Shipt will launch an accelerator to support the growth of small local retailers by providing capital, e-commerce-focused technical assistance, and education – prioritizing minority-owned businesses and those in the grocery category. Shipt will update its marketplace consumer experience to encourage healthy decisions and make meal planning easier for customers with specific dietary needs. This includes allowing customers to filter items by dietary preferences and working with retail partners to expand access for SNAP benefits to be used on delivery orders. And finally, Shipt and the University of Michigan will expand their work together with a project to study the benefits of increasing access to healthy food delivery for people with type 2 diabetes.

“We are encouraged by the steps being taken by this Administration to address hunger and food insecurity in our country,” said Flex CEO Kristin Sharp, “The app-based industry is committed to doing our part by ensuring everyone has access to food on the table and healthy food choices. Every day, we are connecting disadvantaged communities to food that they might otherwise lack access to, and we are proud to continue this work.”

To read the full national White House strategy, click here.