Indianapolis Mayor, Instacart, and Partnership for a Healthier America Celebrate Expanded Nutrition Security Program Connecting Indianapolis Families with Nutritious Food
March 9, 2023
New Instacart technology connects families in need with free food delivery and monthly funds to spend on produce. Kicking off in Indianapolis, new Instacart and PHA partnership to bring Fresh Funds to cities across the country.
Indianapolis, IN — Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) celebrated an expanded nutrition program today with Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett as part of their ongoing collaboration to increase affordable access to healthy and nutritious food in Indianapolis. The program, celebrated at a cooking event at Gleaners Food Bank, will connect 640 Indianapolis families in need with free grocery delivery on orders over $35 and a monthly Fresh Funds stipend to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables using Instacart.
Photos and B-roll can be found here
According to PHA’s Food Equity Opportunity Map, more than 75% of census tracts in Indianapolis — or more than 200,000 people — are in need of more equitable food access. Indianapolis residents face many challenges to accessing good food, including affordability, availability and transportation, among others.
This initiative is part of PHA’s Good Food for All program, which aims to create equitable access to healthy and sustainable food, and Instacart Health, a sweeping business initiative from Instacart designed to deliver the ingredients for healthier living. The Indianapolis program comes as part of Instacart’s latest commitment with PHA to bring 10 million servings of produce to nutrition insecure families across the US over the next three years. Instacart and PHA expect to bring additional Fresh Funds programs to cities across the country throughout 2023.
“Every day, too many families in Indianapolis and around the country struggle to access healthy food. This entrenched problem must be addressed so that good food is available to everyone, no matter their zip code. We are taking the steps to solve it by working with Instacart and the city of Indianapolis to make healthy food accessible and affordable for families in-need,” said Noreen Springstead, President & CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America. “We are hopeful that this program will make a real difference for families in Indiana and serve as an example of how we can increase access to food that is affordable, healthy, sustainable, high-quality and culturally connected across the country.”
The Indianapolis program is providing 640 families with 10 weeks of free produce boxes followed by a complimentary Instacart+ membership and $50/month for 3 consecutive months of Fresh Funds stipends to purchase produce through Instacart. With Instacart+, individuals can access free delivery and Pickup on all orders over $35, 5% credit back on eligible Pickup orders, and reduced service fees on every order.
“When we talk about access to healthy food, what we’re really talking about is access to a better life – including better health outcomes, education outcomes, and employment outcomes,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. “That is the true scope of what our partnership with PHA and Instacart represents.”
“At Instacart, we believe technology has the power to transform food access and help make healthier choices easier for families nationwide,” said Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart. “With Instacart Health, we’re leveraging our technology, scale and infrastructure to reimagine nutrition security solutions and help drive better health outcomes for communities across the country. This is just a first step, and we’re excited to be partnering with PHA and the city of Indianapolis to offer families in need a more affordable way to access nutritious food.”
PHA brought the first phase of its Good Food For All program to Indianapolis in the summer of 2021, providing 834,467 servings of high-quality vegetables and fruits that reached 1,020 local families with help of local distribution partner Indianapolis Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy (DCNFP).
Last summer, PHA and Mayor Joe Hogsett announced an expansion of PHA’s Good Food For All program, providing 925 local families with ten weeks of free produce boxes, followed by 3 months of produce discounts.
The latest phase of the program, aims to unlock the ability for families living in communities that lack access to good food to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from grocery stores that were once completely out of reach for them, using Instacart.
Over the last 2 years, PHA’s Good Food for All program has connected tens of thousands of families in 29 cities with 22 million servings of produce. Following participation in the program, 58% of participants increased vegetable consumption, 51% increased fruit consumption, and over 85% said they were willing to pay for a box of produce.
Instacart partners with more than 1,100 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 80,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. The service is today accessible to over 95% of U.S. households, including 93% of people living in food deserts. Instacart Health launched as part of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health last fall with a focus on delivering the ingredients for healthier living through Instacart’s products, partnerships and policy advocacy.
Members of the press interested in learning more about the equity map or speaking to an expert at PHA should contact Diana Delgado at ddelgado@ahealthieramerica.org.
About Partnership for a Healthier America
Partnership for a Healthier America is the premier national nonprofit organization working to create lasting, systemic changes that transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity. PHA develops evidence-based approaches that are implemented in partnership with the private sector, nonprofits, and government, leveraging PHA’s assets and the partner’s knowledge to accelerate the pace of transformation. Learn more at www.ahealthieramerica.org.
About Instacart Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,100 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 80,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com.
About the Indianapolis Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy The City’s first-ever Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy formed in early 2021 and is housed within the Office of Public Health and Safety, an agency conceived by Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to prioritize and expand the City’s efforts to tackle key public health and safety issues. The Division is working toward a more equitable, sustainable, and accessible food system for the City of Indianapolis by facilitating food distributions with local schools, churches, and food banks; managing digital technology to increase resident access to food pantries; and providing low-cost transportation to grocery options. The Indianapolis Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy has served over 8500 families and nearly 1 million pounds of food to date. To learn more about these programs and others, visit the Office of Public Health and Safety’s website. Keep up with Indianapolis’ leading food access newsletter for Marion County Residents by subscribing to The Beet.
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