‘Reducing Barriers’: Uber Eats to Accept Food Stamp Benefits for Grocery Deliveries

Uber Eats announced Wednesday it will soon accept food stamp benefits for grocery delivery to reduce “barriers” to healthy food, Fox Business reported Friday.

Uber said that beginning in 2024, people will be allowed to use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on the company’s application.

“Today, we’re excited to share updates you’ll see in the Uber Eats app later this year or in 2024 that will help you Get (almost) Anything, faster and easier than ever before, without breaking the bank,” the company said in a blog post on Wednesday:

We know that online food delivery can have a meaningful impact in reducing barriers to fresh groceries, especially for the most vulnerable–including people living in food deserts, seniors, and those facing disabilities or transportation barriers. Helping to improve access to quality food is incredibly important to our work at Uber and we’re proud to use Uber’s technology and extensive local delivery networks to offer SNAP recipients the ability to use their benefits to access fresh groceries conveniently from our app in 2024.

We are working with Managed Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans to support benefits that help members stay healthy, like accepting FSA Cards, Flex Cards, and relevant waiver payments on Uber. Select payment methods will be ready in 2024. This is yet another way we are simplifying how people can access healthy foods and connect with their local grocers in new ways.

The news comes amid a rise in overwhelmed food pantries and so-called “food deserts,” WTKR reported Thursday.

“To be clear, this is not for fast food,” the outlet stated regarding the Uber Eats grocery delivery announcement.

In October, Breitbart News reported that food stamp benefits grew by 12.5 percent as families struggled with high grocery prices in President Joe Biden’s (D) America.

“Under the maximum benefit, a family of four on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will see their payments increase from $835 to $939 per month,” the outlet said.

“Since the cost of living has significantly jumped, SNAP benefits are increasing more than they ever have — in order to keep up with the high inflation that has occurred under the Biden administration,” the article continued.

It is important to note that about 6.1 million people were no longer on the food stamp rolls following former President Donald Trump’s first month in office in February 2017, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Breitbart News reported in February 2020.