Groceries in a SNAP: Amazon provides free delivery to EBT customers
“Pasta salad, potato salad, or black beans and corn?” Aisha Willis asks as she passes out free lunches at Progressive Baptist Church in Dolphin Heights.
Willis is a coordinator for Amazon’s new initiative to provide free grocery delivery for SNAP customers — no membership fee required. SNAP is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for residents with qualifying incomes.
More than 3 million Texans are eligible for SNAP benefits; 330,000 in Dallas County alone. A qualifying family of 4 typically receives about $248 a month.
Willis says customers receive free shipping on Amazon.com orders of $25 or more, and $35 or more on Amazon Fresh. Amazon Fresh delivers fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and household products.
The program launched on Jan. 1 in the DFW area, and Willis says 65,000 people already are signed up.
More than 50 people crowded the church’s community hall for Willis’ Lunch and Learn presentation. Tammy Johnson, executive director for South Dallas nonprofit Empowering the Masses, organized the event. They run a weekly-drive-through food pantry at the church.
“This is specifically for the areas that we serve. Those who live in food deserts,” Johnson says. “If they don’t have transportation or have an issue getting to the grocery store, this can help them.”
Young mom Kendra Dennis is interested in the program.
“It’s good for the community,” Dennis says as she fills out the membership form. Her 2-year-old son sits quietly next to her, drinking his juice. “The only grocery store that’s close to here is Fiesta.”
Willis says the USDA approached Amazon and other retail grocers in 2019 to create a pilot delivery program for SNAP recipients. Amazon piloted the program in six states on the East Coast, and then the pandemic began.
“The USDA calls back, and says, ‘Forget about the pilot, and just go for it,’ ” Willis says.
Amazon ramped up, expanding to 46 states and Washington, D.C., in a single year. Willis says Amazon reimburses does not receive any compensation from the USDA to provide this service. As a delivery-only service, Amazon may have an advantage over other grocers because they already have a robust transportation system in place.
As Amazon looked at how many customers were using the program, Willis says they felt like the program was a success. However, when they overlapped the overall SNAP usage with a map of folks in urban food deserts, they noticed that those customers weren’t ordering.
“So, why aren’t they ordering?” Willis asks.
She says her work as part of the underserved division for Amazon consumables led to more questions: Was it lack of access to technology? Did they not know about the program? Do they have technology, but don’t have the education to know how to leverage it?
Willis’ team was created to help spread the word about the Amazon SNAP program specifically in urban food deserts like South Dallas, she says.
Melvia McCoy already orders her groceries through Amazon.
“Laziness,” McCoy laughs, saying that’s just one of the reasons she uses the service. She does not receive SNAP benefits but finds that it’s cheaper to shop on Amazon than at the Fiesta in her neighborhood.
“It’s expensive,” McCoy says of Fiesta. “The bread, the meats, canned goods. They are cheaper on Amazon. That’s why I order online.”
The women sitting at McCoy’s table nod in agreement. McCoy continues that Fiesta’s shelves have not been well stocked in the last several months.
“I’d rather have it delivered instead of going out to try and find something that I can’t find in the stores.”