Instacart, Partnership for a Healthier America deliver 10M servings of produce
Instacart, Partnership for a Healthier America deliver 10M servings of produce
Instacart and Partnership for a Healthier America announced a major milestone in their shared effort to improve food access. Together, they have connected families across the country to 10 million servings of produce, and — through Good Food at Home, PHA’s signature nutrition security program — delivered fruits and vegetables directly to the doors of more than 17,000 people in 12 cities.
Instacart and PHA have been bringing fruits and vegetables to people’s doorsteps since 2022 through Good Food at Home. Prior to the partnership, PHA was only able to provide families pre-packaged produce boxes for pick up. With Instacart Health Fresh Funds, PHA offers a more accessible and convenient delivery model, with added choice, to families.
Fresh Funds are grocery stipends that participating families can use to purchase fruits and vegetables from any retailer available on Instacart. Instacart and PHA first tested the Fresh Funds model in 2023 in Indianapolis. For three months, 600 participating families received $50 of Fresh Funds and an Instacart+ membership to purchase the produce they wanted and get it delivered to their door. The results of the program were overwhelming positive:
- 80 percent of respondents said they preferred receiving produce credits over produce boxes
- 78 percent said produce credits allowed them to purchase more fruits and vegetables than they could usually afford
- 78 percent said produce credits helped their family build a healthy habit
Building on the success in Indianapolis, Instacart and PHA brought the Fresh Fund model to Washington, DC; Englewood, NJ; Denver, CO; and Milwaukee, WI, in 2023; and Chicago; New Orleans; and Wichita, KS, in 2024. They also increased the monthly stipend from $50/month to $60/month to give families greater access.
Nearly 80 percent of participants surveyed across cities said Fresh Funds helped their family build a healthy habit of eating more fruits and vegetables. For families like Linda Thompson’s in Washington, DC, the impact was profound.
“My shopping experience was pretty stressful before the Good Food at Home program, to be honest,” said Thompson. “I would go to the local grocery stores in my area, and a lot of them don’t sell fresh produce.”
With Fresh Funds, Thompson went from making stressful, three-store shopping trips to becoming an “online shopper,” a shift that saved her time, money and stress.
“It helped me stick to my list, budget — it was a whole different experience,” Thompson said. “It saved me so much time. I didn’t have to put the gas in my car to go to the three different stores. Then I was able to focus on the things that I really needed in the home.”
Over the years, Instacart and PHA have continued to iterate on the model to better serve the needs of participants. In 2024, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables were added to the list of eligible items that families could purchase with their Fresh Funds. This summer, Instacart and PHA launched an eight-month version of the program in Washington DC, Detroit and Sacramento, CA, to better understand how sustained access to produce can shape long-term habits.
As part of the ongoing partnership and commitment, Instacart has also supported several other PHA initiatives, including Veggies Early and Often, which seeks to increase vegetable consumption among young children; the Good Food for All Summit, a cross-sector convening for leaders reimagining the food landscape; Healthy Hunger Relief, a program that helps food banks improve the quality of food they distribute; and two Giving Tuesday campaigns, where Instacart partnered with Danone, Dole, Olipop, and Keurig Dr. Pepper to encourage consumers to purchase better-for-you products, enabling the company to provide 1.5 million servings of produce for PHA during the holiday season.
“Sharing food is one of the most powerful ways we care for one another,” said Dani Dudeck, chief corporate affairs officer at Instacart. “Through our technology and partnership with PHA, we’ve helped families bring 10 million more servings of produce home and build lasting healthy habits. When we make nutritious food easier to access, we’re helping strengthen families and the communities they’re a part of, creating a ripple effect that reaches far beyond the dinner table.”
“This milestone is a powerful testament to what’s possible when we combine innovation with collaboration,” said Noreen Springstead, president and CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America. “Instacart’s support and technology have transformed how families can access nutritious food. Together, we’re challenging the traditional model and giving people a more dignified, convenient and tailored experience that better serves their needs. While we celebrate delivering 10 million servings, we know the work is far from over, and we look forward to bringing this model to even more communities across the country.”
