Supporting nutrition access and education in partnership with the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, Found and Unite Us

Instacart is unique because of the power of our network – we connect families to the groceries and goods they need, partnering with more than 1,200 retail banners to facilitate pickup and delivery from more than 80,000 stores across 14,000 cities, reaching more than 95% of North American households.

We know health and nutrition are deeply intertwined, but today too many families – more than one in 10 Americans (1) – do not have reliable access to food. Increasing access is at the core of Instacart’s mission and our social impact efforts. Given the role we play in the grocery ecosystem and our unique technology, we have the opportunity to help organizations build and grow programs that can get more food to more families so that they can live healthier lives. 

Today, we’re announcing a new partnership with the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley (FBRGV), Found and Unite Us to launch the Healthy Habits program, designed to expand access to nutritious food and provide health education and guidance for Rio Grande Valley (RGV) community members suffering from diabetes and other chronic conditions. Through the program, Found is donating $20,000 in Instacart Fresh Funds to supplement the distribution of food to the 60 local RGV community members participating in FBRGV’s nutrition program. 

Found’s registered dieticians will use Instacart’s educational tools, including Virtual Storefronts, to provide actionable nutrition guidance for participants. With these Instacart Health products, a participant can simply visit the recommended storefront or recipe, add items to their cart and checkout using their Fresh Funds as payment. An Instacart shopper will then shop the order from the participant’s preferred local grocer and deliver the items to their door. 

We want to help organizations move food equity initiatives forward, and we’re proud that our technology can play an important role in helping programs like Healthy Habits scale. We believe the most impactful change will come from multi-partner, cross-sector collaboration – by working together, we can expand access and ensure everyone can get the nutritious foods they need to thrive. 

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(1) USDA. “Food Security: Key Statistics & Graphics.” April 22, 2022. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/#:~:text=The%20prevalence%20of%20food%20insecurity%20was%20unchanged%20from%202019%20to,to%2010.5%20percent%20in%202019. 

Laura Anderson

Author

Laura Anderson is the Director of Social Impact at Instacart. As part of her work, she supports the company’s Instacart Health initiative, overseeing strategic partnerships with nonprofits and foundations, as well as employee impact programs. Laura has 10 years experience building programs at the intersection of technology and social impact at both for profit and nonprofit organizations. Prior to Instacart, Laura spent five years at Airbnb.org, building the company’s nonprofit strategy, and identifying opportunities for nonprofits to use Airbnb's technology to book free, welcoming & safe accommodations for people in crisis.