Dive Brief:

• Giant Food has partnered with city officials in Baltimore to launch a program that makes healthy produce more accessible and affordable to residents who use SNAP benefits, according to a Monday press release. The partnership offers SNAP and EBT participants a $15 promo code that can be redeemed up to six times over a six-month period. 
• In a separate but similar effort, Harvest Market in Northern California began participating in a health food program that puts healthy food incentives directly onto a customer’s EBT card, according to an emailed press release. 
• The programs come as federal rollbacks of SNAP emergency allotments launched at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic leave “many individuals being challenged to stretch their food dollars,” Giant said in the press release.

Dive Insight:

The regional grocer’s new benefit launched on Monday and is accessible to SNAP participants via Giant’s pickup and delivery services orders, according to the press release. The grocer noted the program is tapping funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Nearly 150,000 of our Baltimore neighbors are impacted by the hunger cliff. This is an important step to help address the effects of the loss of SNAP Emergency Allotments and support families’ nutritional needs,” Michael J. Wilson, the director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, said in a statement. “Making sure our residents have access to healthy, affordable food is a step toward combating food insecurity.”

Eligible Baltimore shoppers who want to take advantage of the program through Giant Pickup have nine stores to choose from, according to the press release. Orders placed from Tuesday through Thursday do not have a delivery fee, while shoppers will be charged $3.95 per order at other points in the week.

The Harvest Market project is overseen by the nonprofit San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, the announcement notes, and the instant rebates are provided to participants who earn matching dollars when they buy California-grown fruits and vegetables. Shoppers can earn up to $60 in rebates per month at the grocer’s Fort Bragg and Mendocino, California, stores.

The grocer began participating in the incentive in early March and will continue to do so until the CalFresh pilot project ends in December, according to Harvest Market’s press release.