Dive Brief:
- Meijer will offer discounts from $5 to $10, and 5% to 10% on select produce items for SNAP customers, according to a Wednesday press release.
- This discount will remain in effect for a year and comes after a waiver the grocer had applied for was granted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The discount applies to all Meijer supercenters, neighborhood markets and Express locations.
- This benefit for SNAP customers is the newest example of grocers making efforts to make healthier options more available, reduce food insecurity and create a more inclusive shopping experience.
Dive Insight:
The Midwestern grocer’s new discount initiative will begin its first promotional period from Oct. 2-31, offering 10% off fresh fruits and vegetables. SNAP customers will also receive coupons of similar value to the discounts for future purchases of qualifying produce, the announcement stated.
Meijer will also provide coupons offering discounts on future produce purchases for SNAP shoppers.
"We are participating in this important federal initiative to help families get easier access to healthy foods, which is another way we can help reduce food insecurity,” Rick Keyes, Meijer’s president and CEO, said in the announcement.
Meijer submitted its USDA waiver earlier this year to offer these benefits to its SNAP customers. The 2018 Farm Bill allows SNAP-authorized retailers access to USDA waivers in order to offer its SNAP customers incentives, like Meijer’s newest discounts, to purchase nutritious foods like produce, low-fat dairy and whole grains, the press release noted.
Meijer’s past efforts to combat food insecurity include its Simply Give program, which started in 2008 and stocks food pantries across the Midwest. The initiative has generated over $73 million so far.
Meijer’s newest initiative follows other grocers’ efforts to better the shopping experience for its SNAP customers. Earlier this month, Walmart streamlined its online grocery ordering to exclusively list SNAP and EBT-eligible items, making these products more accessible and easy to identify. And in July, Albertsons launched SNAP online purchasing capabilities across five of its banners.
