Innovative Pilot Program by Partnership for a Healthier America, American Frozen Food Institute and Instacart Shows Frozen Produce is a Critical Solution for Food Security

WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 28, 2025 — Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) and Instacart today released the findings of an innovative pilot program that successfully expanded access to fruits and vegetables for families with lower incomes by including frozen produce as an option. Conducted as an extension of PHA’s flagship Good Food at Home program, the pilot was supported by AFFI and delivered via Instacart in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

The Good Food at Home Fall/Winter 2024 pilot provided participating families with $80 per month for three months in Instacart Health Fresh Funds grocery vouchers, to purchase fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables for delivery. The results confirm that including frozen produce is a practical and highly effective strategy for increasing both produce access and consumption, establishing a powerful new model for food security initiatives nationwide.

Key Findings Highlight the Value of Frozen Produce

The evaluation demonstrated that frozen fruits and vegetables support nutrition access and healthy eating for households, especially those facing nutrition insecurity.

• Frozen’s Extended Shelf Life Drives Purchases: The top reason cited by 73% of survey respondents for purchasing frozen produce was that it lasts much longer, directly addressing a major barrier to fruit and vegetable consumption: spoilage and food waste.
• Practical Solution: Nearly all participants, 99%, reported already having some type of freezer capacity at home, indicating that frozen fruits and vegetables are a practical nutrition solution for nearly all low-income households.
• Making Healthy Eating Attainable: Participants reported that frozen fruits and vegetables help them save money, are convenient, and are easy to prepare.
• Variety and Nutrition: Frozen options, such as mixed vegetables (31%) and fruit mixes (29%), were popular, allowing families to add nutrient-rich, easy-to-prepare foods to their meals and diversifying their diets with items like strawberries, mango, broccoli, and corn.
• Pairing with Nutrition Education and Healthy Eating Incentives Drives Change: With financial support to purchase produce and information to educate about the benefits of frozen, participants reported increased frozen vegetable purchasing following the program.

Program Success Across Cities

Across the three cities in the pilot, participants showed high engagement and reported positive outcomes. More than 75% of program participants in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Chicago made at least one purchase with their Fresh Funds and also indicated that the access to produce helped their families build a habit of eating more fruits and vegetables. More than 200,000 total additional servings of fruits and vegetables were made possible through the program.

Overall, 93% of Philadelphia and Chicago respondents said that Fresh Funds allowed them to buy more fruits and vegetables than they could usually afford, and 85% of Baltimore respondents reported the same.

Executive Commentary

“Thanks to our partnership with AFFI, the addition of frozen fruits and vegetables marks a breakthrough in nutritious food access,” said Noreen Springstead, President and CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America. “Our traditional approach of providing produce boxes or credits for fresh items, while effective, often overlooked the issue of perishability for families with limited time, money, and transportation. The positive response to frozen produce—from preventing waste to diversifying diets—proves that it is a critical, modern, and practical solution for driving food equity. By expanding the eligibility to include frozen, we are taking a major step forward in ensuring that every family, in every zip code, has dignified access to good food.“

Alison Bodor, President and CEO of the American Frozen Food Institute, emphasized the industry’s role. “This pilot program with PHA is a powerful demonstration that frozen foods ensure affordable and practical nutrition is available in every community in every season. By using freezing as nature’s pause button, frozen food makers lock in the nutrients and quality of farm-fresh produce. This means households have year-round access to fruits and vegetables, reducing food waste and helping stretch their food budget further. The data confirms that frozen foods play a central role in ensuring nutrition security and are welcome solutions for today’s busy households.”

“This program demonstrates that when families have easier access to nutritious food, they can build lasting healthy habits,“ said Dani Dudeck, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Instacart. “The continued success of this partnership highlights just how powerful technology can be in removing barriers and making it easier for families to bring healthy food home. This work reinforces what we believe at Instacart – that with the right tools and partnerships, we can make nutritious food choices more accessible for every family, in every community.”

Based on the success of this pilot, PHA is now including frozen fruits and vegetables in all of its Good Food at Home programming moving forward.

About Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA)

At Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), we are advancing equitable access to nutritious food for all in America to lead healthy lives. As a national nonprofit founded alongside Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign in 2010, PHA works with community organizations, corporations, foundations and governments to build healthier communities through nutritious food. Learn more about our work at ahealthieramerica.org.

About American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI)

The American Frozen Food Institute is the national trade association promoting and representing the interests of all segments of the frozen food industry. With over 400 frozen processors and associate members, AFFI works to advance the industry’s priorities, elevating the voice of frozen, and driving solutions for category performance. More information at www.affi.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 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 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. 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. Maplebear Inc. is the registered corporate name of Instacart.

Media Contacts:

Jason Wilson, Partnership for a Healthier America, jwilson@ahealthieramerica.org

Mary Emma Young, American Frozen Food Institute, meyoung@affi.com