From Servings to Solutions: How Instacart and PHA Delivered on a 10 Million Servings of Produce Promise, One Family at a Time

Today, we celebrate an important milestone in the fight against nutrition insecurity: Instacart, in partnership with Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), has successfully delivered 10 million servings of produce to families across the country.

This commitment, which we made in 2022 to connect nutrition-insecure families with produce over three years, was about more than just a number. It was about transforming the way families access and choose healthy food. It was about people—like Linda Thompson, a Washington, D.C. program participant who shared her story with us—who now have more choice, more time, and more high-quality fruits and vegetables on their tables. This is the story of how cutting-edge consumer technology combined with trusted community expertise and outreach is making lasting change in neighborhoods across the country. # The Dignity of Choice: Redefining the Model Across America, families often face immense hurdles in accessing healthy food. There are neighborhoods where grocery stores are few and far between. For some families, time and tight budgets force them to prioritize other needs over nutrition. For too many, the stress of simply trying to put a good meal on the table is an everyday reality. Linda Thompson, a mother and community member in Washington, D.C., was all too familiar with the challenges of accessing fresh food before joining the program. “My shopping experience was pretty stressful before the Good Food at Home program, to be honest,” Linda shared. “I would go to the local grocery stores in my area… and a lot of them don’t sell fresh produce.”

Linda Thompson, University Student and participant in the Good Food for All Program

Like many families navigating tight budgets and limited options, Linda often found it hard to get the fresh ingredients she wanted. To tackle this, PHA and Instacart introduced Instacart Health Fresh Funds grocery vouchers, which allow families to purchase high-quality produce from any retailer available on Instacart in their area, with the benefits of same-day delivery.

PHA’s Good Food at Home program offers participants produce credits (through Fresh Funds) and an Instacart+ membership. This model moves beyond traditional approaches to improving food access, allowing people to choose the healthy foods they wanted – based on their unique household needs and preferences – delivered to their door.

Douglas Ireland, chief program officer at Martha’s Table, a trusted community partner, said, “The game-changing element of the program is the access that it provides neighbors… to grocery stores all across the district, because the ability to go online and arrange home delivery from stores that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to access from the point of view of transportation, cost, time, that just opens up a whole new range of possibilities.”

Martha’s Table, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, implements the Good Food at Home program in the community

For Linda, this meant going from a stressful, three-store shopping trip to becoming an “online shopper”—a shift that saved her time and money and allowed her to stick to a budget.

“It helped me stick to my list, budget… it was a whole different experience,” Linda continued. “It saved me so much time… I didn’t have to put gas in my car to go to the three different stores. Then I was able to focus on the things that I really needed in the home.”

Instacart’s Technology: Breaking Down the Barriers to Access

Delivering 10 million servings of produce is a testament of the power of true partnership between Instacart and PHA. Instacart’s reach and technology were essential in overcoming systemic barriers. By leveraging its platform, Instacart was able to deliver fresh, frozen, and canned produce directly to families, including those who rely on food assistance programs like SNAP.

Access, Choice, and Empowerment

For families in underserved communities, cost isn’t the only barrier to nutritious food. Transportation, time and quality are also constraints that prevent people from getting access.

• Expanded Reach: For community-based organizations like Martha’s Table, Good Food at Home was an invaluable asset. Douglas noted that the program helped Martha’s Table serve “seasoned citizens” and parents enrolled in their education programs—many of whom couldn’t access Martha’s Table’s in-person markets due to mobility challenges and work schedules.

• A Full Assortment: Unlike a typical food pantry or market, which offers a limited selection of fruits and vegetables, Fresh Funds gave participants the ability to choose any produce they wanted from their grocer of choice and have it delivered to their home at a time that worked for them.

• Dignity of Choice: The program empowers families to purchase the items that best fit their unique preferences, a key component of the dignity-centered model. For Linda, this meant being able to choose high-quality fruits, even when the nearest store couldn’t offer the selection she was looking for.

Lasting Impact: Building Habits That Stick

The most profound impact of the Fresh Funds model is that when you give people consistent access to healthy food, they don’t just eat it; they build lasting healthy habits. Across all of the Good Food at Home participants surveyed, 78% or more of respondents across cities said Fresh Funds helped their family build a habit of eating more fruits and vegetables.

Linda’s experience beautifully illustrates this change. The access to fresh, high-quality produce inspired new ways of cooking and turned mealtime into something the whole family could share. The program also encouraged her to be more creative and inclusive in her cooking:

“I started incorporating the kids like helping me cook… So it was a family affair and we enjoyed making the food together, trying new recipes.”

Douglas saw the power of combining Fresh Funds with hands-on education, like cooking demonstrations:

“When we combine that with the opportunity to participate in Good Food at Home and have the Instacart+ membership plus the produce credits, that’s where we see the biggest impact… providing the means and the knowledge and the resources. That’s when you really see a sustained change in healthy eating behaviors.”

The Ripple Effect

The reach of this program extends far beyond a single delivery. Since the partnership began, PHA and Instacart connected more than 17,000 people in 12 cities across the country to servings of produce, with programs spanning Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Englewood, NJ, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., and Wichita.

Here’s how the impact creates a long-lasting ripple effect for families:

• Improved Nutrition Security: Across all of the Good Food at Home participants surveyed, nearly 45% of survey respondents reported an increase in nutrition security three months after the program ended.
• Increased Consumption: In Washington, D.C., alone, participants purchased nearly 50,000 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Sustained Habits: As families gained a consistent way to access food, they were able to solidify healthier habits. PHA and Instacart are now testing an 8-month version of the program to learn more about how sustained access to produce can shape long-term habits.

A Collaborative Path Forward

Reaching this tremendous 10 million servings milestone underscores a powerful truth: no single entity can solve nutrition insecurity alone, but when the private and nonprofit sectors come together, we can create meaningful change. This kind of partnership is crucial because it allows each organization to focus on its core strengths: community trust, technological innovation, and sustainable systemic change.

“This kind of partnership enables larger projects where we can each focus on our core competencies,” said Douglas. “In Martha’s Table’s case, we are trusted by our neighbors and community, and I think that’s essential for the program implementation and the community engagement.”

“At Instacart, we’re passionate about using our technology to drive lasting, systemic change,” said Dani Dudeck, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Instacart. “Through our partnership with PHA, we’re combining the power of innovation with the deep connections of community organizations to make nutritious food easier to access for everyone.”

The success of Fresh Funds through Good Food at Home is a testament to the impact that can be achieved when technology is leveraged to address nutrition security. And while we celebrate the milestone of 10 million servings, we know the work is far from over.

PHA’s vision is to scale the program to more cities across the country, to help connect families year-round with access to high-quality, nutritious, affordable, and delicious food. Through our partnership, we’re cultivating a future where choosing nourishing food is an easy choice for every family—no matter where they live.