Wegmans Now Accepts SNAP EBT via Instacart
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Vance Cariaga
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The Wegmans Food Market grocery chain is now accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT payments for Instacart online grocery orders.
The news was announced by Instacart on Wednesday. According to Supermarket News, all 106 Wegmans stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and North Carolina will allow SNAP beneficiaries to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards when ordering groceries through the Instacart online marketplace and mobile app.
“The introduction of EBT SNAP payments for online orders increases accessibility to our wide selection of groceries,” Erica Tickle, Wegmans’ vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement. “This is incredibly important for our customers and our company, as we strive to help people live healthier, better lives through food.”
Wegmans will add the online ordering capability to its own website and mobile app later this year, Tickle added.
The Instacart announcement came less than a month after Gov. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) announced that Wegmans had joined the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot. The program is currently available in 49 states and the District of Columbia, with Alaska the only state yet to take part.
With Wegmans on board, Instacart now powers EBT SNAP payments for more than 60 retailers in 39 states and D.C., spanning more than 7,000 stores nationwide.
“We’re proud to expand our partnership with Wegmans and provide East Coast families a more convenient, accessible way to access nutritious food and pantry staples,” Sarah Mastrorocco, vice president of access to food and nutrition at Instacart, said in a statement.
SNAP is a federal program for families who need financial assistance to buy food. Although it is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program itself is managed at the state level.
According to the USDA, you can use your EBT card to buy most food products, including the following:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Meat, poultry and fish
- Dairy products
- Breads and cereals
- Other foods such as snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages
- Seeds and plants that produce food to eat
Among the items you can’t buy with the EBT card are alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, vitamins, medicines, supplements, pet foods, cleaning supplies, paper products and cosmetics.
