SNAP ONLINE
It was 2020.
And a global pandemic.
Millions were grocery shopping online to avoid stores.
But if you were trying to shop online using SNAP?
Almost impossible.
SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or “food stamps”) helps over 42 million Americans afford nutritious food.
The 2014 Farm Bill enabled stores to accept SNAP Online grocery purchases through the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot. It began slowly. As COVID-19 spread across the US in March 2020, it was only possible to shop using SNAP online in 8 states, at only 8 retailers.
34% of SNAP participants are elderly or disabled (CBPP).
23.5 million Americans live in low-income areas more than 1 mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (USDA ERS). Sometimes called “food deserts”, we prefer to call these areas “food apartheids”, because they result from intentional—but solvable— systemic inequalities.
We had to act.
We started by listening to our team members, friends, and family members on SNAP, to our advisors, and to our partners.
“I’m a full time student with 2 homeschooled children, 1 is autistic. My husband is an essential healthcare aide. I have to rely on running to the stores before he leaves for work. We rely on EBT and the only place that will deliver is Amazon. Not Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, or Prime, not Shipt with target. The only store that will deliver is ShopRite but their time slots are sold out for a week in advance. If I want to feed them fresh healthy food I have to either take them with me and expose them or rush and hope I don’t bring home the virus.”
— unBox community member
“I'm an immunocompromised disabled person who uses EBT. Prior to the pandemic, I was mostly homebound and when Amazon accepted EBT as payment for their Amazon Fresh deliveries it was a miracle. No other company was willing to let EBT as payment for their grocery delivery services. Now things have changed however and while online groceries are more accessible, finding items that are in stock and open delivery times are impossible. Some people receive their benefits on the first of the month and can buy their groceries as soon as possible, but for others such as myself, they're not, and I don't know if groceries haven't adjusted their stock, or if there truly are shortages, but many of us are going without. I can't go to the supermarket either because I can't risk going outside to get sick. It's a tough situation to be in.”
— unBox community member
“I'm disabled and it's hard for me to get out and do my shopping. So being able to have groceries delivered for free would be the greatest thing ever for me. Plus getting ready to have surgery on my shoulder and won't be able to drive for awhile.”
— SNAP Online Guide Viewer, from Kentucky
Our team dove in with every tool we had.
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Expanding SNAP Options Act of 2021
unBox worked with Hunger Free America and Food Systems for the Future to provide feedback for the bill introduced in the US Senate as the Expanding SNAP Options Act of 2020. Its points were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan.
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SNAP Online Research
There was no data on SNAP online and its implementation. So we submitted FOIA requests to every state. Their insights helped inform a USA Today story and Healthy Eating Research Brief, our own brief circulated to advocates, implementers, and the public, and two academic research publications - which help inform the equitable, effective, data-driven expansion of SNAP online to better meet participants needs.
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SNAP Online Guides
Co-developed with our team members on SNAP, compensated user interviews completed in partnship with Stanford Sustainable Cities, and our advisors at CSPI, the Farragut Food Club, and NYU School of Medicine, our guides - shared by partners Providers and Project Bread - have been viewed over 40,000 times.
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SNAP Online Farmers Market Pilot
We helped FTS Solutions, a grocery technology company specializing in SNAP- and WIC-accepting stores and seeking to be involved in the first SNAP online farmers market pilot, connect with farmers markets nationwide to learn about and discuss their SNAP online ideas and questions. We also helped connect California markets with Hunger Free America’s SNAP online farmers market pilot USDA RFA.
