About Fresh has struck up a new agreement with FIS, a leading financial services technology company, to expand the Boston-based nonprofit’s Fresh Connect food prescription platform to over 10,000 grocery retail locations, according to a Tuesday announcement. 

New locations accepting the Fresh Connect platform, leveraged by FIS’ Filtered Spend program, will include Albertsons, Kroger and Walmart stores across the country, the press release noted. 

The expansion lets Fresh Connect consumers buy produce with a prepaid debit card at checkout. The cost of “eligible healthy foods” are automatically deducted from the customer’s total purchase price, per the press release. 

The goal of About Fresh’s platform is to empower consumers with funds and flexibility to buy healthy foods as well as support individuals experiencing food insecurity. Fresh Connect also enables healthcare organizations to cover the cost of fresh food options for patients. The prepaid debit card is funded by healthcare institutions and a HIPAA-compliant program management platform. 

Chris Como, senior vice president and head of cards and money movement for FIS, noted the company’s payment technology will streamline the checkout experience for shoppers. 

About Fresh co-founder and CEO Josh Trautwein also added that the addition of FIS is a “significant milestone” for the nonprofit as well as its shoppers. 

During the last six months of 2022, 74% of Medicaid-funded Fresh Connect cardholders in Massachusetts used their card at least once every month to buy fresh produce. Active cardholders spent an average of 83% of their available benefit, according to the announcement. 

Other grocers have already enabled About Fresh’s food prescription platform in an effort to address food insecurity. In January 2022, Stop & Shop teamed up with About Fresh. When announced, the option was available at over 100 Stop & Shop stores with a goal of enabling all 400-plus locations of the Ahold Delhaize banner’s footprint by early spring 2022.