Montgomery County, Maryland, and Instacart have partnered on a first-of-its-kind initiative to increase food security and combat childhood hunger across the county. The new program, MC Groceries, uses Instacart Health Fresh Funds to provide nearly 600 Montgomery County families living with food insecurity – including more than 1,000 children – monthly stipends for online grocery shopping and delivery.
“The program demonstrates the county’s leadership in pursuing solutions that connect families with essential financial support while addressing the gaps and access barriers underscored by post-pandemic shifts in federal resources,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Our collaboration with Instacart is a model for public-private partnerships led by local government that leverage private sector technology and innovation to more effectively serve our residents.”
Each participating family receives a monthly Fresh Funds stipend to shop for groceries online from local stores available on Instacart. Families receive $100/month per child (0-18) – up to a maximum monthly stipend of $400 for households with four or more children – for a full year.
“At Instacart, we’re using our technology to solve some of the most complex food access challenges for families and communities,” said Casey Aden-Wansbury, VP of policy and government affairs at Instacart. “We’re proud to partner with Montgomery County to help launch this pioneering food access program, ensuring more families can access the nutritious food they need. Through public-private partnerships like these, we can help end childhood hunger and foster more equitable access to nutritious food in every community.”
The program empowers families to choose which retailer to shop from and which grocery items to purchase based on their unique tastes, budget, dietary and health needs and cultural preferences:
- Families can use their Fresh Funds stipends to purchase a wide selection of food and beverages from local retailers, including fresh and frozen produce, meat, dairy and pantry essentials.
- The county has also rolled out a custom Virtual Storefront on Instacart to encourage healthy choices.
More than 80 grocery stores in Montgomery County are available via Instacart, many of which offer delivery and pick-up options. In less than a month, MC Groceries participants have already placed more than 700 grocery orders using their Instacart Health Fresh Funds, resulting in more than 12,000 nutritious food and beverage items getting to families experiencing food insecurity.
“MC Groceries is the first in the nation food security program that provides families in need of assistance with dignity and autonomy,” said Councilmember Kate Stewart. “We have an incredibly diverse community in our county and making sure those in need are able to access culturally relevant food staples of their choice is core to our values of being a welcoming and inclusive community.”
From any given location within the county, families can use their Fresh Funds to access grocery delivery from at least 20 different retail banners. This can be a game changer for county residents who work multiple jobs, experience health or mobility challenges, live in single-caregiver households and/or rely on public transportation for commuting and shopping.
To qualify for the program, Montgomery County residents must have met the following criteria:
- Household income at or below 400 percent federal poverty level;
- Household does not receive benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); and
- Household has at least one child under 18 years old.
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The MC Groceries program expands food access for households not eligible to receive SNAP benefits. SNAP benefits are available based on qualifying factors tied to household size and income.
For example, a family of four making less than $58,000 per year would qualify for SNAP, but earning a raise or getting a higher-paying job may disqualify a family from federal assistance.
The families selected for MC Groceries do not qualify for federal nutrition benefits because their income falls into what’s sometimes called the “SNAP Gap” or “self-sufficiency gap.” That is, they earn too much to qualify for federal assistance but not enough to cover necessities, including consistent access to nutritious food.
The county’s 2023 Self-Sufficiency Standard, which measures income adequacy for working families, found that a family of four living in Montgomery County needs to earn nearly $120,000 annually to pay for basic necessities like food, child care and housing. At least 36,000 children in the county live in households that fall into this self-sufficiency gap.
Based on survey responses from MC Groceries participants:
- Nine out of 10 households receiving these benefits are actively experiencing food insecurity.
- Eighty-seven percent of participating households self-identify as Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern and/or American Indian.
MC Groceries is the largest Instacart Health government partnership to date, illustrating the county’s and the company’s shared commitment to building innovative solutions that expand food access and improve community health. This is also the first time a government has provided online food stipends directly to families facing food insecurity via Instacart.
An allocation of $1.82 million was made to the Office of Food Systems Resilience’s FY24 budget through Special Appropriation #24-37 for this program with the goal of supporting up to 2,000 total county households.
About the Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience
The OFSR works to make the county’s food system more resilient and equitable to improve the health of residents, the economy and the environment. The OFSR is partnering with the county’s Department of Health and Human Services to implement the MC Groceries Program.
About Instacart
Instacart, a grocery technology company, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,500 national, regional and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 85,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. 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.
